New Chicken Mom, please help

[holtsred]

What is the best material to put in the bottom of the coop and the run? Thank You!

 

[DobieLover]

What is the best material to put in the bottom of the coop and the run? Thank You!

It can depend on your climate and your poop management system.
I use hemp bedding on the coop floor and Sweet PDZ in the poop boards. I change the coop bedding annually and the boards are cleaned every morning.
The run has a thick layer of wood chips.

 

[holtsred]

It can depend on your climate and your poop management system.
I use hemp bedding on the coop floor and Sweet PDZ in the poop boards. I change the coop bedding annually and the boards are cleaned every morning.
The run has a thick layer of wood chips.

Thank you DobieLover. I live in Georgia, so its warm and humid! Lol!

 

[aart]

What kind of bedding you use may depend on how you manage the manure.
This is about cleaning, but covers my big picture
-I use poop boards under roosts with thin(<1/2") layer of sand/PDZ mix, sifted daily(takes 5-10mins) into bucket going to friends compost.
-Scrape big or wet poops off roost and ramps as needed.
-Pine shavings on coop floor, add some occasionally, totally changed out once or twice a year, old shavings added to run.
- 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.
Aged ramial wood chippings are best IMO.
-Nests are bedded with straw, add some occasionally, change out if needed(broken egg).

There is no odor, unless a fresh cecal has been dropped and when I open the bucket to add more poop.
That's how I keep it 'clean', have not found any reason to clean 'deeper' in 5 years.