Muddy run! Help please!

[MIchickenlady]

We have chickens in our small town, so we are unable to free range and have to be careful about smells and flies for the sake of the neighbors. I have not figures out what I am going to do in our 12x12 litte grass outdoor run when Spring comes around again...maybe sand? Any advice appreciated. Great thread, thanks for all the contributions-great ideas!!

 

[aart]

We have chickens in our small town, so we are unable to free range and have to be careful about smells and flies for the sake of the neighbors. I have not figures out what I am going to do in our 12x12 litte grass outdoor run when Spring comes around again...maybe sand? Any advice appreciated. Great thread, thanks for all the contributions-great ideas!!

I would not recommend sand in a run in MI.
Go with carbon.... wood chips, twigs, dry grass and other plant matter, etc.

 

[Cryss]

We have chickens in our small town, so we are unable to free range and have to be careful about smells and flies for the sake of the neighbors. I have not figures out what I am going to do in our 12x12 litte grass outdoor run when Spring comes around again...maybe sand? Any advice appreciated. Great thread, thanks for all the contributions-great ideas!!

Woodchips, woodchips, woodchips. Get em free from local or county tree services.

 

[Backyard Bruce]

A question about material layering for the DLM.

I have plenty of access to pine needles, I've had 16 trees cut and the branches chipped a few years ago so I have piles of wood chips already well into decomposing process, I have leaves all over the place.

The question is what would be best to place in there first, wood chips pine needles...etc and how much of each(equal parts or more wood chips than anything else).

And a big question for me is How deep to start off with.

This will be for my run which is fully covered and the dirt floor has very good drainage

 

[aart]

A question about material layering for the DLM.

I have plenty of access to pine needles, I've had 16 trees cut and the branches chipped a few years ago so I have piles of wood chips already well into decomposing process, I have leaves all over the place.

The question is what would be best to place in there first, wood chips pine needles...etc and how much of each(equal parts or more wood chips than anything else).

And a big question for me is How deep to start off with.

This will be for my run which is fully covered and the dirt floor has very good drainage

Depends on your goal.

Do you just want to reduce odors and speed decomposition of chicken poops?
Then you only need a few inches and the mix isn't critical, tho the woods chips will last longest, but pine needles, and leaves especially, will break down sooner and you might want to add more as that happens. You could go deeper faster, but watch out for molding..tho depending on how many birds in how much space, they keep things mixed up pretty well, I just keep an eye out for soggy masses of more tender ingredients. For pure odor control, just a thin layer of the ingredients you have will work quickly.

If you want to create some good compost to put on garden, you may want to go real deep right away but be more careful of your ratios. I do not know how to do that tho.

 

[Backyard Bruce]

I have a 11 bird flock in an approximately 24' X 6' run it is located directly behind my 18' box garden so, Yes I do want the compost.
I was just outside raking through the old wood chips to see what stage of decomposition they're in and I think they are real close being pretty broken down as it is.
So maybe I'll start with just a couple (2") of that with a lot of pine needles mixed in.
Guess I'm lucky to have it all on hand, good problem to have.

 

[Cryss]

I don't use wood chips inside the henhouse but I love them in the run on dirt. Also I cover my gardens with them. I never till. I'd start in the run with just a few inches deep, 4 at the most, if you feel it gets muddy. You can always add more. Are your pine needles chopped and mixed in the chips? That's how they would be coming through the chipper. I'd be nervous about putting in just sharp pine needles. I'd put them in the compost.

 

[Backyard Bruce]

No the pine needles weren't part of the chipper but rather just on the yard floor. My yard is the woods basically and there are a good amount of tall old pine trees with a ton of needles under them.
So I would be mixing them with the wood chips along with leaves and twigs that came up with a rake full.

 

[Backyard Bruce]

I have another question on the DLM but this one pertains to inside the coop.

I read that people use poop boards when doing the dlm, note I didn’t mean dbm.
Why would you use a poop board if you actually want the waste to mix in with the rest of the compost.

Wouldn’t you want everything to just fall onto the floor and mix it all up with a fork.

 

[aart]

Why would you use a poop board if you actually want the waste to mix in with the rest of the compost.

Well, you wouldn't.
But here is much confusion over DLx.