Muddy Chicken Runs.

[U_Stormcrow]

I have river gravel under one of my water stations - it was prone to leaks when I first built it (blame me, not the equipment), so I put down a couple inches of it to let the water drain away and keep the birds (the ducks, particularly) from digging in the mud there, as they are want to do.

it is the ONLY place in the whole run I have to periodically spray clean with a hose and high pressure nozzle, and the only place where poops start to stack up and get a whiff of odor.

I would NOT do it again, and plan to rake it out come spring. (its a bit under 3' high there, and a good 4-7' under the hen house (technically, under a 275 gallon tote collecting rainwater from my barn roof), in one of the corners, thus my lack of enthusiasm for doing it now. and, as its in a corner protected by fencing, I have easy access to hose it down once a month or so and has good airflow, so not a breathing problem for the birds. Most likely, I'll pull a bunch of poultry staples, bend the fence out, pull the gravel with a heavy rake outwards, then resecure the fence.

 

[3KillerBs]

The decomposing typically happens rather slowly, kind of like the ground in a forest--every year the leaves fall, but every year they slowly rot away and are almost gone by next fall. It goes a bit faster in a chicken run, because the chicken poop makes it rot faster, but the goal is still something like what the forest does: not stinky, not getting hot like some compost piles, just gradually shrinking down and disappearing into the ground.

Yes.

I was unaware of the "forest floor" concept in run management when I first started but wound up creating that sort of system as I worked toward the healthiest and lowest-maintenance management I could come up with.

Now I'm doing it more consciously.

 

[3KillerBs]

A strong, foul odor indicates insanitary conditions that pose a health risk to both birds and owners.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Can you do this yourself or ......?

No bedding causes bumblefoot, staph infections do.

To reduce stink you need plant matter to decompose the poops...
...any kind of gravel or sand is not going to do that.

Start with coarse wood chippings and add some smaller stuff.
My runs have semi-deep litter(cold composting), never clean anything out, just add smaller dry materials on occasion, add larger wood chippings as needed.

I can attempt to build a gate, we have extra pallets we can use as building material.

I was planning on building split a pallet coop for Turkeys, & Saipans, so the gate build will be a good practice.

We'll have to find a place to get a good truck load of wood chips first.

I still need to bring this up with my dad first though.

 

[MysteryChicken]

A strong, foul odor indicates insanitary conditions that pose a health risk to both birds and owners.

The coop itself doesn't stink too bad, the muddy run is what stinks most.

I'm doing coop cleanings, we got the Bantam coop cleaned out last Monday.

We just cleaned out the Standard/Project Orpington coop today.

Next Monday we're cleaning out the coop with a mixed flock. Their's is gonna be the hardest.


We give the coops a good cleaning twice a year. Once in the spring, or summer. Once in the fall before winter.

We put the manure in the gardens for fertilizer.

 

[MysteryChicken]

My dad wants to give the idea of a composting run a try.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I have a curious question about using leaves, & pine needles raked off the ground.

Is there a slight risk of transmission of disease from wild birds when using leaves as run litter?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I have a curious question about using leaves, & pine needles raked off the ground.

Is there a slight risk of transmission of disease from wild birds when using leaves as run litter?

Probably, but I have wild birds flying around everywhere - hummingbirds roost above the run, larger ones like ducks and herons walk past the run, so anything they might have is going to be in the environment regardless of what bedding I'm using.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Probably, but I have wild birds flying around everywhere - hummingbirds roost above the run, larger ones like ducks and herons walk past the run, so anything they might have is going to be in the environment regardless of what bedding I'm using.

We have doves, blue Jays, hummingbirds, & chickadees that use our area alot. So I had to ask.

Earlier this spring there was a diseased dove with a Tumor on it's face that was close to my birds. I was tempted to kill it, but it vanished within a few days.

It hung around my Bantams, but at least non of my birds are showing any sign of disease after that incident. It wasn't super close to the coop, more like 10-12 feet away.

 

[3KillerBs]

I have a curious question about using leaves, & pine needles raked off the ground.

Is there a slight risk of transmission of disease from wild birds when using leaves as run litter?

Unless the chickens were kept in a completely enclosed area behind solid walls and filters where there could be no possible contact of any kind with any wild bird or other animal they're almost certainly already exposed to whatever is in the environment via foraging in their pen and/or free ranging.