Partially covered run— best litter method

[aart]

What is the best sand to use for the run?

In an uncovered run in WI? None...it will freeze solid for months, spring thaw will be disgusting. Go with deep litter.

 

[Whitepinefarm]

In an uncovered run in WI? None...it will freeze solid for months, spring thaw will be disgusting. Go with deep litter.

The run will be totally covered. Will that make a difference?

 

[aart]

The run will be totally covered. Will that make a difference?

Maybe......any dampness may freeze it up solid.
It may be very hard to clean the poop out in the winter.

I prefer deep litter as it acts like a compost, no picking up poops ever.

 

[Farmgirl1878]

Is it more difficult to scoop out the poop with that type of sand?

Nah, I just use a kitty litter scoop for the coop and a long handled wok skimmer for the run (so I don’t have to bend down as much). I got both on Amazon.

 

[SimplyLivinthatFarmLife]

Is it more difficult to scoop out the poop with that type of sand?

The river sand I use looks very similar to the sand you would find at the beach. We just go to where the river has dumped the sand and scoop away. Will try to remember to take a picture tomorrow and post.

 

[leslielbk]

i thought I’d try deep litter in the run, but after huge thunderstorms rolled through yesterday afternoon, the pine shavings were SOAKED on the unroofed portion of the run and damp from blowing rain on the covered portion.

We have sunny, dry weather the majority of the year but we do have some monsoon activity in July and sometimes snow in the winter. Should I continue with deep litter knowing during those times it may not work as well?

Also, in my coop, there’s no good way to add a poop board or hammock, so I’m thinking of switching to sand and PDZ, which I can just scoop daily. Are there any significant drawbacks to this?

Thanks for always helping this chicken newbie out with suggestions!

This may not apply at all to your situation, but have you tried pellet bedding? It's used for horse stalls and is compressed wood pellets that expand with water. I use it in the coop because it's light, stays clean longer, doesn't get trashed if it gets wet like shavings do and composts a million times better. It's a smaller bag for storage too and the same cost as a big bale of shavings. The only drawback is they have to be wetted in order to expand, and I haven't figured out a good way to do this. Horsey people cut the bag open and water it down that way, I just don't need a whole bag and do it in a rubber dump cart. If I get water in the coop I throw down some pellets and they suck up the water.
When I had a run I put straw in there. It doesn't matter what it is as long as it works for your situation. No one can know the particulars of your run like you do. My opinion is to try sand or straw. You just don't want anything that makes the sloppy mess worse, like was mentioned about mold and mites. I had those - ewwww. Anyway, my two cents.