New to chickens-Questions about Run and Coop

[ChickenChik]

My husband and I are new to chickens and we have 6 five week out chickens in our newly built coop (will post later). We are unsure about a lot of things so any advice about the coop and run would be greatly appreciated! Today we dumped all the grass clippings in the run which the chickens seem to love. I was just wondering if this is ok. It is untreated and no pesticides so I was just wondering if it will be ok for the chickens. It seems to keep it a lot cleaner. We also lock our chickens up at night and let them out during the day. Is this okay? When we lock them up they are already perched and settled in for the night! Any suggestions for our coop and run would be great! I am very interested in the deep litter method but no clue what it is or what to do! Thanks everyone!!

 

[momiphouph]

Our little flock LOVES grass clippings, we have a pile for them which is slowly turning into our compost pile. The chickens help contribute to it by leaving droppings in the pile, great for the garden, and they pick at it and get what they like. Our chickens are also out in the yard during the day and locked up in their coop at night. Safe and sound! Sounds like you are doing a GREAT job! Keep up the good work!

 

[LittleMamaBigPapa]

WELCOME to the Addiction! I am only a one year veteran of chicken life and EVERYTHING that I have learned to date, I got right here form this site. If you get anxious waiting for answers, you may also search the index. I use the deep litter method and the name makes it sound all formal and technical but it really isnt. Hubby and I put a couple inches of pine shavings in our coop with a few cups of Sweet PDZ (similar to Stall Dry, but I like Sweet PDZ alot) and stir it around. We didn't change the bedding all winter, only added sweet PDZ if/when needed and raked it around once a week. Works great. I would not dump grass in your run. That's an awful lot of grass. You dont want them to just munch on that all day. Their feed should be the majority of their food and of course the protein in the buggies they will find in the garden

HAVE FUN

PS - Our coop door stays open to the fully enclosed, locked and secure run.....so, yes, lock them up. Protect those furry butts.

 

[Jen71]

WELCOME!!
There is so much information available here in this forum. All of my questions have been answered by using the search feature and by reading the "sticky" threads at the top of each section.

Browse around, and you'll learn so much!
You can do a search for "deep litter method" and it's all explained for you.

Sounds like you're right on track with your girls. We're feeling WAY behind over here because our coop is not built and our chicks are growing fast. Yikes!
Have fun!

 

[chickerdoodle]

from Oregon!

Your complete feed (usually a commercial feed although some folks have the recipe for a homemade one) should make up 90% of their diet. Treats (including grass clippings, scratch, left over dinner, etc.) should not equal more than 10% of their dietary intake or you risk nutrient deficiencies. Deficiencies can lead to physical abnormalities, overweight hens (heavy hens are more prone to prolapsed vents and hemorrhagic livers) and even a decrease in egg production. Grass clippings can get lodged in their gizzards or ferment in their crops if you give them too much so I'd recommend to only give them a couple of 1" or less sized grass blades a piece--a little more if it is dry. Grit should always be available (have the correct size for their age) and oyster shell should always be available once the hens are over 18 weeks of age or when they start laying.

 

[ChickenChik]

They don't seem to be eating a lot of the grass but like to scratch and dust in it. Fresh food is available all the time and they still seem to be eating their feed just fine. Keep the tips coming. Thanks y'all.

 

[CityChook]

from MN!
Be a little bit careful with the cut grass - it can impact their crop, especially if it's cut long. But they sure do love it, I know.
Post some photos of your coop and run and you'll get lots of feedback.
Do a search on deep litter (in the blue bar above). There is a ton of info. I use deep litter in the coop and love it. I have a floor, so it doesn't compost, but it does absorb all the poo, insulates and I only clean it out twice a year. Love that!

 

[MareeZoCool]

from Ohio! Glad to hear you are concerned & not afraid to ask questions. We won't learn if we don't ask!
You're doing great, training your young chickens tohead into the coop at dusk. (I spoiled mine last summer.) Now we have to pick them up & carry them to their coop after they've roosted on my lawnmower at sunset. Keep with your routine, it's a great plan!

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Not only is it okay, but highly desirable.

Im currently reading Geoffrey Sykes book, "The Henyard." Mr. Sykes, now unheard of, was from England. He pioneered what we call "the deep litter method" for the small poultry yard, in the period just after WWII. In America, we are familiar with the deep litter practice indoors, but Mr. Sykes had great success using it both inside and out. His inspiration was the outdoor cattle midden, or pen, on which straw was normally strewn a deep layer of straw for the animals to live upon. He reckoned that if it worked for cattle, it would work for chickens. He was right.

The goal is to create a deep layer of actively decomposing litter material, upon which you intensively rear your birds. 6" or more would be about right. Mr. Sykes settled on straw as the best material for this, so keep that in mind, as it is key. Coarse grass clippings, shredded corn stalks, hardwood leaves chopped in the lawnmower, anything like that is desirable. Grass clippings will do, although one could expect them to breakdown faster.

In it's simplest form, you simply pile this stuff on the ground and the chickens live ON TOP of it, fenced into their pen. This was not originally designed for just one or two chickens, but to accommodate a fairly dense stocking level. It would be wholly adequate for the 4 sq ft per bird we all love to use and would be ideal for the small backyarder.

Its greatest benefit is drainage, first and foremost. Its most immediate effect is that the birds are not living on a mucky, filth encrusted moonscape of a run or yard, but rather on a carpet of fresh and clean straw. No stink, no funk!
As the birds soil the top layer with their droppings, you rake over the top and add another layer. This is normally about each week, or as needed depending on your stocking levels in the yard. As you can imagine, an adequate and steady supply of litter is the primary requirement for this method.

What happens is this. As the layers build, the deeper layers soon become a 'bacterial incubator' as the organic material of the litter decomposes. Added to that is the breakdown of the birds' droppings, which releases nitrates and ammonia into the mix. These two factors, the heat of decomposition and the chemicals from the droppings, combine to create an environment that is hostile to most poultry diseases, in particular coccidiae.

It also makes a home for the tiniest of insects to thrive, which the chickens eat. Also weeds and other plant seeds get in and are either eaten by the birds or sprout - and then are eaten.
As the birds scratch around in the upper layer, they also get down to the bacterial sections and so ingest some of the beneficial bacteria.

Mr Sykes' method proved greater fertility of eggs, significantly lowered mortality and greater feed efficiency among flocks reared in this way. At its core it really is an intensive management practice and is not intended for 'free ranging' the birds. If you dont like fences or constraints and prefer to have our chickens running loose, then this isnt really going to appeal to you.
This about penning up your birds to both their benefit and yours.

At the time of Mr. Sykes' work, agricultural practices were moving toward sterile cleanliness and isolation of animal groups, the mantra being "Cleanliness is Next to Godliness." But the gulf between animals living in their own filth and the symbiotic orderliness which can be promoted using deep litter was not well understood. So the agri-biz as we know it in civilized lands left The Henyard methods behind. It never really caught on and I don't even know if it is much remembered anymore, except perhaps in the back counties of England. More is the pity.

If you can ever get a copy of his book, do so. It is long out of print and so is very hard to find. It also commands a premier price when you do find one.
I was extremely lucky to get mine, thanks to a generous BYC member and happily payed $20 for it ( THANKS ED

).
I have seen them go for 5-6 times as much. Sadly, I have yet to find a down loadable copy on the internet.

If you have any questions about it, please feel free to ask me. I will do my best to answer them.
This might warrant post thread of its own, in time...

 

[dumb_cluck]

Yup. I'm a protective "mom" too. Everybody has bed check at night. NO exceptions! You're doing fine! Keep up the good work!