Poopy run!

[Laroux66]

Hi all! I am fairly new to chicken keeping and wondering if anyone could advise me on how to keep my run clean?!
I have an eglu go up, with 3meter extension for 4 chickens who roam the garden and play on their swing in the run during the day.
Under the run I have plastic chicken netting on top of dirt, and then layer of wood chips on top. My girls poop constantly and the run is getting a bit smelly and mucky. I've hosed the chips down which helped initially, they haven't really dried out since we've had bad rain for weeks. Not sure how to optimise drainage underneath.
I've ordered some agricultural lime, DE and pine shavings and my plan is to get lots of lime down and mixed in, followed by the DE and then when it's all mixed I'll top with pine shavings.
Is this a good idea?! I'm not sure if I've even chosen the right flooring or if there is a better option out there. Thanks for the advice!

 

[aart]

Not sure how to optimise drainage underneath.

This would be the first thing to do, get the enclosure to somewhere that drains well.
Water + poop = stink.
No bedding will help that scenario.
Lime might help, DE won't.
I use large wood chippings and some smaller stuff,
but I have a large run with good drainage.
Not sure what to do with small enclosure like you have.

 

[Alaskan]

Since it is small and lightweight, can you move it to a new spot every week?

 

[Laroux66]

Since it is small and lightweight, can you move it to a new spot every week?

I did try this, and the grass gets destroyed really quickly I think I'm going to make a good tarp canopy and start again with new wood chips after establishing a spot with good drainage! I do have the roof of the coop covered but sounds like I need the area rain proofed! Thanks for advice all.

 

[aart]

but sounds like I need the area rain proofed!

Rain is OK, will help break down the poop with the wood chippings, as long as it drains away instead of puddling.

 

[aart]

Could this be part of the issue?

Any kind of netting on ground of run is not good, IMO.
Can cause feet injuries and make it hard to clean if needed.

 

[Laroux66]

Any kind of netting on ground of run is not good, IMO.
Can cause feet injuries and make it hard to clean if needed.

I just started thinking this, the farm I bought the wood chips from advised the netting to stop the chickens from picking through to the mud and bringing it up into the chips, which clearly hasn't worked. I'm moving them back to grass later and will try to sort out drainage in their usual spot

 

[ChickenFlamingo]

Definitely take out the bottom netting. It helps when the chickens can dig and churn up dirt, woodchips and the poop. It will act as a sort of composter. You will need to replace the woodchips every now and then as they compost away.
You will also get woodchips everywhere and massive holes. You start off with good intentions to have everything nice and neat, but chickens think otherwise.

 

[Acre4Me]

You need more varied bedding as described by @aart. You may benefit from raising everything up a bit too. For example, make the bamboo sides taller, fill in with chips/bark, etc to a higher level. Then rain drains through and down further and the sides keep the chips in better. Next, you should shield more of the sides, focusing on the sides that get any prevailing winds that tend to blow rain in.

we had to do this similar approach in our run. So.much.rain this past year, that we were left with poopy mud (yuck and it stank!) so we got a huge load of chipped wood and raised it by 8-10 inches (once it settled). Had to put boards around the fence sides to keep it all in. Then we added to the uncovered side of the run: coarse sand, peat moss, sawdust to make a nice and loose soil for dust bathing.

cute set-up though!

 

[Laroux66]

That's not much cover due to the angled sides.
Might want to cover more and down lower for rainy days.
Are those pine shavings, the kind sold in bags/bales as animal bedding, on the ground? Not too familiar with what's available there or what it's called.
Can you get bigger chippings, like this?

They're wood chips, no pine shavings. I'll see if I can get some bigger ones!

You need more varied bedding as described by @aart. You may benefit from raising everything up a bit too. For example, make the bamboo sides taller, fill in with chips/bark, etc to a higher level. Then rain drains through and down further and the sides keep the chips in better. Next, you should shield more of the sides, focusing on the sides that get any prevailing winds that tend to blow rain in.

we had to do this similar approach in our run. So.much.rain this past year, that we were left with poopy mud (yuck and it stank!) so we got a huge load of chipped wood and raised it by 8-10 inches (once it settled). Had to put boards around the fence sides to keep it all in. Then we added to the uncovered side of the run: coarse sand, peat moss, sawdust to make a nice and loose soil for dust bathing.

cute set-up though!

Really curious just how big these are...
...betting the same as what are called pine shavings here in the US.

I'll take a picture in the morning of pine shavings vs wood chip in my hand for you!