Muddy run! Help please!

[paintedChix]

Welcome to BYC!

First, get rid of the plywood floor in the run......then read thru this thread and you'll find lots of options.
This is my favorite that I often share:
Here's a great description of contents and how to manage organic 'bedding' in a run or coop...and there's a great video of what it looks like.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1037998/muddy-run-help-please#post_16017992

ETA: Glad to hear you are going to build larger housing after seeing this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1148145/was-given-these-hens-what-are-they#post_17936233
Would be interesting to see it without the snow...bet you think so to...haha!

Have you started your build yet?

Do you plan on getting more chickens (you know, that "chicken math thing")? IF you may be getting more chickens, then I'd keep the little coop and run as a quarantine area or a brooder area for new birds/chicks and build your new coop and run on the other side of the yard. Have your birds started laying yet? I know the snow load has been up and down in your area along with the temps... To keep this run dry, you could put a roof over it and then during a storm you could either put up panels (such as single 4x8 plywood or OSB) or tarps - either colored or clear plastic. A lot of different options - any of which can work.

Hmm, I hit reply to the wrong post - meant to reply to the post that AART replied to, not directly to AART's reply...

 

[nenebynature]

When creating a bird habitat, think of where the wild fowl live....in the forest. Recreate that floor and you'll start to see and smell a huge difference in where your chickens live and they will be healthier and more content. Leaves, twigs, bark, small amounts of straw or hay~small, mind you, pine needles and cones, wood chips, etc. As deep as you can build it. No more mud, no more bad smells or flies. The litter pack acts like a big sponge, wicking moisture down, leaving the top springy and dryer. It keeps the soil under the run from becoming too compacted, thus allowing the rains to take the excess nitrogen of the manure down to the worms that will ascend under the litter for that nutrition. Try to avoid too much of any one material unless it would be leaves...that's mostly what you will find decaying on the forest floor. A lot of people want to use wood shavings but they are expensive and all one particle size, not letting air into the pile. Wood chips would be a better option than shavings, if you can get them as they have varying particle size and contain leaf matter.

You create food, activity and healthier footing for your chickens in one, cheap, easy to maintain move. You can then throw lawn clippings, garden refuse, kitchen scraps, weeds, etc. into that litter pack and what the chickens don't eat they will bury and the worms will consume it. They will be living on a living compost pile instead of a slick, muddy, poopy moonscape filled with little pools of putrid water.

And you can do the same thing in your coop:

I absolutely loved this video thank you so much for posting it! I am working on a deep litter in my run. I have found that it smells mostly fresh with the deeper litter. I do need to get a pitchfork to turn it more often underneath the roosting bars. So much to learn !!

 

[nenebynature]

Ding ding ding... Duh ( not at you at me) . In the run toss in a bag of wood shavings and all the leafs and yard waste , and shredded paper and crumpled up paper. It help to build the ground up as well as gives bugs a place to hide for the chickens to find them. All vegetable scraps from the kitchen, toilet paper rolls , paper towel rolls. It all makes good run absorber.

I never really thought about paper products! That is an excellent idea thank you for sharing! I need to add in some more brown materials for the new addition of my run and coop.

 

[nenebynature]

In a run I always advise 10-12 in. or more and just keep building on that as it sinks lower during composting. The more variety of materials, the better, and the deeper you go, the more absorbent that litter is going to be. Come heavy rains it will soak in much better and you shouldn't see puddles anywhere at all. If you are seeing mud or puddles, you need to add more material.

This spring I had a "watergeddon" situation after heavy rains and piling in the straw and pine chips was so helpful. I will be continuing this in my new addition.

 

[NNYchick]

I have always wanted to do a composite pile for my garden the one thing that has stopped me is I read that it attracts wildlife, snakes and rodents. Do any of you that do deep litter have this issue? My fear mainly is even if I just use lawn waste the warmth will attract rodents looking for a warm winter bed.

 

[paintedChix]

I personally have not. We do have 4 "barn cats" that patrol the areas around our chicken coops - I wonder if that helps? I HAVE had more issues with other predators digging into the coops. We've put hardware cloth, tacked down, around the outside of our coops and runs - not yet buried but it will be.

I have seen videos of others removing the outer fencing of a run, dig into bedding there and have a "real rat race" - rats jumped up and took off! They had dogs - all the rats seen jumping out of the pile(s) of bedding were caught.

 

[CollieFeathers]

After awhile of using this method, do you eventually deep clean the coop, move the coop (it's a large permanent coop so would be difficult) or just keep the composting up, adding materials?

 

[CollieFeathers]

After getting this muddy situation straightened out, my chickens need a serious bath.

 

[paintedChix]

I have only been doing DLM in these 3 coops since Oct 18th, 2015. Up till then, they had been utilized as tractors. We found that this style that i built was heavy and difficult for me to move by myself AND that the grass clumps in the sand caused constant bumping when drug by a vehicle/lawnmower. This caused lots of wear/tear on the coop, so they were all put into "spots" and pretty much became permanent.

This is on straight sand - once the original grass gone (about 2 months in the one that had 5 bantams & 3 weeks in the ones that had LF, varying #s), then I started putting material in it via bags, "wagon load" and 32 gallon trash can. While new material dumped in the center can be upwards of 3' tall, the chickens spread it out pretty quick. Doesn't stay above the 2x6 bases very long and breaks down into the lovely compost.

I have never cleaned it out completely but have moved loose material at the very top over enough to dig up some of the compost underneath. We did not have much bug life in the sand originally, but now I see various bugs & worms!! I've then spread that in areas I wanted it. Wish I had a tractor - we do all this stuff by hand!

I even bag the dog hair that we sweep up in the house or groom off of them and now put that in the DLM to compost down. Also, any pony hair (shedding/clipping, mane & tail brushes) and dryer lint...

Need to take more pics.

 

[Kusanar]

After awhile of using this method, do you eventually deep clean the coop, move the coop (it's a large permanent coop so would be difficult) or just keep the composting up, adding materials?

It should break down and just sink into your soil. If it starts piling up too much for your particular coup, you can take some out and put it in your garden (at the end of the season so it has time to rot before you plant) or into a compost pile somewhere else. If you do remove some, take the top layers and pile that into a corner, then remove the BOTTOM layers and spread the top layers back out. The bottom layer will be the most rotted down and best for putting in a garden.