New coop and run - the two areas getting too much poop!

[GLBRWyans]

I was using straw but after a few hard rains , the straw molds . Think I am going to use sand as well . Moldy straw can't be healthy for my ladies . Plus I have to make my run bigger .

 

[fifenashia]

Quote:
I am in the same boat!

 

[motherhenmindy]

Hm, I am new to chickens and didn't know that flies would be such a serious problem. How old are they? Mine are 5 weeks old, I wonder if mine just aren't big enough yet to make that much poop, 3 here as well, and also in 32 sq ft of coop/run. Our run is dirt, but before we built the coop, we tilled to kill the grass and ground down to an inch or more. I just rake a couple times a week and turn the stuff over. If I see a lot of big poop, I scoop it out with a shovel and dump in our compost barrel. Also, we made sure to paint most of our boards in the coop, it makes scooping the poop off the surfaces much easier. Can you fit a tiller inside to turn the earth a bit?

 

[CRYROLFE]

Hi,
We are also very new here but are building our coop right now...(see blog below). We have a run and plan on adding sand....but if you do that, make sure to add a little framing to the bottom of your run to keep the sand in. It'll be like a giant sandbox.

I also plan on adding sand to the coop house as well, and sifting it. I will at least have sand on the poop board and wood chips inside.

Good luck!

 

[GLBRWyans]

Quote:

from Louisiana and the poop thread

 

[GLBRWyans]

Question , are the ladies going to eat the sand to satisfy their grit needs and what kind of sand should we get . Play box sand ? Or get commercial grade sand and just keep a big pile of it on the property .

 

[PoppiesChicks]

We have sand in our run and coop and it's the best thing we did. The brooder got smelly enough with the wood chips. I couldn't imagine how bad a coop would get. Every morning when I let out the girls I scoop the poop from the night. It takes less than 5 minutes and no smell. The kids fight to be the one to scoop the poop in the run. We try to do this every night but sometimes we do it every other day. The kids also love to rake the sand to keep it dried out and mix the poop that we couldn't get scooped. Good Luck!