Non free range/ non deep litter chicken keepers

[grannyhensdream]

I've had chickens for 4 years now. I have 2 large runs that accommodate 24 chickens. Each run has well over 10sq ft per chicken. I use pine chips and straw for bedding. My coop is fine, it's the runs that I have questions about.

How often do you clean out your runs?
How much bedding do you use? How deep is the bedding (for non deep litter method)?
What do you do with the bedding when you clean out? (These runs are too big to use the bedding for compost. It would be too much.)
Basically, how do you maintain a clean and healthy run without breaking the bank with bedding?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Ted Brown]

Six years in. I have 25 chickens in about 400 Sq ft of run that includes the space under my elevated coop. The run proper is covered by a pole shed.

The bedding in the run is on ground that is 4-6" of soil over a sand/gravel mix. I started with mulch then added leaves & pine needles each fall until I had 8-10" of depth.

I have never cleaned it out. I use drop boards in the coop and clean that to a compost bin every few days.

What waste is deposited in the run dries and disappears. There is no smell, no flies, very occasional surface waste. I keep both water & feed in the run, chickens are constantly digging through the bedding.

 

[grannyhensdream]

Thank you for replying. That sounds very economical. Since adding more chickens with the second run the bedding is getting very expensive.

 

[AnneGirlGG]

I haven't personally used the service yet, but I saw someone on here say they use a mixture of raked straw and leaves from their yard and wood chips that they get free through a company called Chip Drop. You may want to see if they're in your area. I looked them up and they're in mine, so I'm definitely planning to give them a shot when we get our current run extension finished.