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.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

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.

How often: never. The point of deep litter is to let it compost and create new soil. If it is under roof, it probably needs occasional sprinkling to keep the composting going. To make the composting work, deep litter must be added on top of soil, not gravel* or a wooden floor, etc. The litter interacts with the native soil.

* I just saw where Ted built his on a mix of gravel and sand. This works for him, because he added 4-6" of soil on top of it, and then additional organic material (organic in the sense of once-living) on top of it, which then has been composting.

How much: Gosh, I guess since we built the 8'x15' run late last February, so eight months ago, I have probably added - over time - four 2 cu.ft. bags of hardwood mulch, 2 large bags of pine straw, a large bag of pine flakes (plus periodic gifts from the coop), 3-4 bags of pine and/or hardwood bark chips, several lawn mower bags of cut grass, and multiple bags of leaves chopped up by the lawn mower. It's been 2 months or so since adding anything except the leaves and grass clippings, and there's currently maybe a 2" layer of loose litter over new soil. The level of soil in the run has been raised 4-5" overall since we started from the composting process. Probably $50? in purchased materials added.

Cleaned-out bedding: I don't clean out, so this is moot. I do go in periodically with a garden fork and work up and turn over the soil, mixing loose litter in with it. (I am especially effective after reading too much news.) The chickens also do their part by scratching and digging, but unfortunately they do a lot more of this out in the yard than in the run. I'm letting this current 2" of remaining litter continue to rot down, and then I'll probably work it all up again and take 3" or so out to jump-start the spring garden beds, and then start adding stuff again. (I'll keep adding leaves through the winter though, mostly for the girls' entertainment, as they've stripped their foraging areas bare.)

Maintain: All the above! Essentially, I am trying to replicate a fairly fertile forest floor (wow, all those f's without cursing!), because this approximates part of the natural environment of the ancestors of modern chickens, along with multiple and varied perching options in their run. I find that the more closely we can imitate their ancestral "real world", the healthier and happier they are.

 

[perkolator]

Wood chips are usually a free option, if expense is the issue.

I do deep litter and use wood chips as the base material + whatever other organics I feel like adding. Have probably only invested maybe $100 total over the last 5yrs on all bedding materials, the only thing I'll buy is shavings for the nest boxes and hay bales that I use for my giant slip-n- slide that usually end up in the chicken area afterward. I don't use ChipDrop anymore to acquire my chips, prefer to just directly call arborists or talk to the crew when I see them on the street somewhere; have had much better experiences that way.

My chickens sleep in their enclosed run, and it's approximately 125sq/ft where they deposit nightly and soil the bedding the most. I do deep bedding because it's easy and I don't have to clean it out - maybe once per year, mainly because of volume. Winter weather tends to get the bedding moist, which is the only time of year I'd notice any smell really - and I think it's only because it's normally kept dry and isn't actively composting like in a true deep litter setup. Last few years before the rains come, is when I clear out and put in new wood chips, which resolves the smell issue. My larger uncovered run is also wood chips base, but there's a lot of native soil mixed in. It's basically a giant compost pile and it doesn't smell like chicken poop either. I will irrigate this run in summer and I also add fresh grass clippings and yard waste, kinda to promote decomposition and more microorganisms. The last two years I've been harvesting awesome black top soil from the bottom of the run, for gardening. I love my lazy setup, as it works well for me.

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

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?

I usually clean my run 2x a year - In the fall before winter, and in the late spring before summer.
I clean my coop about 1x/week and use maybe 1-2in of bedding? Not exact every time.
I use the bedding for compost in my garden beds.

 

[grannyhensdream]

Wood chips are usually a free option, if expense is the issue.

I do deep litter and use wood chips as the base material + whatever other organics I feel like adding. Have probably only invested maybe $100 total over the last 5yrs on all bedding materials, the only thing I'll buy is shavings for the nest boxes and hay bales that I use for my giant slip-n- slide that usually end up in the chicken area afterward. I don't use ChipDrop anymore to acquire my chips, prefer to just directly call arborists or talk to the crew when I see them on the street somewhere; have had much better experiences that way.

My chickens sleep in their enclosed run, and it's approximately 125sq/ft where they deposit nightly and soil the bedding the most. I do deep bedding because it's easy and I don't have to clean it out - maybe once per year, mainly because of volume. Winter weather tends to get the bedding moist, which is the only time of year I'd notice any smell really - and I think it's only because it's normally kept dry and isn't actively composting like in a true deep litter setup. Last few years before the rains come, is when I clear out and put in new wood chips, which resolves the smell issue. My larger uncovered run is also wood chips base, but there's a lot of native soil mixed in. It's basically a giant compost pile and it doesn't smell like chicken poop either. I will irrigate this run in summer and I also add fresh grass clippings and yard waste, kinda to promote decomposition and more microorganisms. The last two years I've been harvesting awesome black top soil from the bottom of the run, for gardening. I love my lazy setup, as it works well for me.

Thank you for your reply. I'm still a bit confused about deep bedding and deep litter but this is helpful. But, please expand on the "giant slip and slide"! ;-)

 

[grannyhensdream]

I usually clean my run 2x a year - In the fall before winter, and in the late spring before summer.
I clean my coop about 1x/week and use maybe 1-2in of bedding? Not exact every time.
I use the bedding for compost in my garden beds.

Thank you. I have a vinyl floor in the coop so I clean it out daily. Maybe I can stretch that.

 

[paintedChix]

Thank you for your reply. I'm still a bit confused about deep bedding and deep litter but this is helpful. But, please expand on the "giant slip and slide"! ;-)

In response to your request of explanation. Seems to come up every few years, LOL.

I've found deep bedding to mean using layers of bedding in the coop itself (or a chick brooder). It's usually done on a floored coop (doesn't go to the ground). It is kept dry. If water is spilled or rain/snow gets in, the wet bedding is removed. The bedding can be any type. As the bedding breaks down (even non-composting set up breaks down) due to chickens dust bathing & scratching around & their poops drying up, coop tender does 1 of 2 things. 1 - completely removing all bedding & sweeping or vacuuming up the "dust". This is done weekly, monthly or whenever it appears to be needed. OR 2 - they add more dry bedding to freshen the bedding, only cleaning out 1-2 times a year. The removed bedding then needs to be composted. Over the winter, directly in a garden bed or added to hot compost piles/bins.

Deep litter method (also known as DLM) is usually done where the litter/bedding comes into direct contact w/ the ground or natural soil. It is a form of constant composting that allows for removal of "finished product" that can go directly into the garden at anytime of the year. It is also done in a combination of ways. Some use wood chips or mulch. Can chip your own trees, get delivery direct from arborists or sign up for ChipDrop. Others use a combination of materials. Materials are all natural types that will break down or compost - wood chips, pine straw, pine shavings, hay, straw, hemp, rice hulls, corn stalks, lawn clippings, garden trimmings, shrubbery pruning, weeds, veggie scraps from house, coffee grounds, shredded paper products (junk mail minus plastic windows, paper, household boxes, cardboard, phone books, etc).

The main idea is that you want the materials to be different sizes &/or types. This allows water to percolate through as well as allowing aeration. Both of these mean that there won't be standing water as it absorbs into the litter "sponge" & the poop breaks down w/o smell or flies. If you have smell or mud or standing water, you would need/want to add more litter (natural materials listed above). You do need some damp or wet - to keep the litter breaking down or composting. In a dry region, this may mean watering the run (& coop) or at least dumping & cleaning waterers out there. In a wet region, this may mean adding lots of materials to become a good sponge or fully roofing the run to keep excess water out.

DLM can be done in a floored coop but can be more difficult to get started & to maintain. It can also cause damage to the coop. To get it started, you'll want to "inocculate" the bedding w/ soil from your garden, from under shrubbery or trees in a local forest area. This has local micro organisms & bugs & will start the composting of the DLM. Every time the coop is cleaned, it will need to be innoculated again. Since the DLM needs moisture, the litter material will need to be sprayed - completely opposite of a dry coop. A wooden floor & at least the lower walls of coop need to be protected from the moisture. Exterior paint, Black Jack 57 or some type of linoleum or waterproof flooring works.

There are several good articles throughout BYC. The reason they contradict each other is simply "different strokes for different folks". Also, different regions have different weather conditions, meaning what works in one area doesn't work so well in others.

I love DLM. Keeping material slightly damp during dryer spells means little/no dust or flying dander/feces. Not having to actually clean a coop - previously priceless due to our work schedules. Now that I'm not working & getting older, just nice not to have to deep clean.

A great video on DLM - done by a member of BYC.

BeeKissed - DLM video

My own DLM -

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3Z4ZpfpHr1Nr5DZC8

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If interested in intense but very short time compost production, Google "chicken composting on steriods". Geoff Lawton, Perma Pastures Farm, Permaculture Consultant & now, years later, many others will pop up...

For composting w/ chickens - Edible Acres, Porterhouse & Teal, Parkrose Permaculture. Many ohers, now, too.