Rain in the Run

[ValerieJ]

Maybe it's just me, or the size of my chicken run, but I never pick up or rake up the straw. It eventually turns into dirt. I use about 6 bales a year in a low area of my run and it never comes out. Now that being said, my run is about 4000sf and I put straw in about a 400sf area, but really, why does it need to come out? I don't rake poop out anywhere else. When that area gets mushy I just add more straw. LOL They do have plenty of area where grass and greenery grows, so maybe that is the difference.

 

[Henriettamom919]

You know, this is one smart, creative group of people! We could run the country! Maybe even the world *insert evil laugh here*

Seriously though, collective chicken/duck people for President!

 

[JDN]

Move the water out. Dig a piece of drain tile or septic pipe (pipes with holes) an bury them, running them from inside the coop near the water to outside. The pipe needs to run "downhill" but doesn't need a crazy amount of slope, 1/4 inch/foot is probably plenty.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Maybe it's just me, or the size of my chicken run, but I never pick up or rake up the straw. It eventually turns into dirt. I use about 6 bales a year in a low area of my run and it never comes out. Now that being said, my run is about 4000sf and I put straw in about a 400sf area, but really, why does it need to come out? I don't rake poop out anywhere else. When that area gets mushy I just add more straw. LOL They do have plenty of area where grass and greenery grows, so maybe that is the difference.

I do the same thing but with hay. I clean out about half the shavings from my coop every 9 months and they go into the run, too. The poop seems to decompose really fast, as I have apx 45 chickens in a 750sq ft run and only a day or two worth of poop is visible and there is no smell. It tends to be pretty dry where I live though, so I think that helps immensely with the poop just turning to "dust". That and the hay just eventually turn into soil. My run is only covered by netting so it gets a bit amount of moisture during the rainy season and then the microbes do their thing.

 

[ValerieJ]

I do the same thing but with hay. I clean out about half the shavings from my coop every 9 months and they go into the run, too. The poop seems to decompose really fast, as I have apx 45 chickens in a 750sq ft run and only a day or two worth of poop is visible and there is no smell. It tends to be pretty dry where I live though, so I think that helps immensely with the poop just turning to "dust". That and the hay just eventually turn into soil. My run is only covered by netting so it gets a bit amount of moisture during the rainy season and then the microbes do their thing.

Oh, I meant I don't rake poop in the run. I clean my coops every week. They get completely emptied out and new straw and FGDE put in. I was told I couldn't use hay for the chickens. Can't remember now what that was. So I use the straw. I've only had chickens for 4 years, so I take any and all advice. LOL

 

[leighks]

I’m in WNY and it’s been raining nonstop here. There is standing water in the chicken yard that is greenish and stinky. Put pallets over some of the bigger puddles and may fill in some areas with straw. It’s been a very wet spring, enough already!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Oh, I meant I don't rake poop in the run. I clean my coops every week. They get completely emptied out and new straw and FGDE put in. I was told I couldn't use hay for the chickens. Can't remember now what that was. So I use the straw. I've only had chickens for 4 years, so I take any and all advice. LOL

I tried straw at first but it didn't dry out as well as hay plus the stems are hollow so it can harbor mites easier (so I'm told). I found hay breaks down nicely and doesn't wick up the rain like the straw does. The one time I used straw I ended up having to haul it all out of there because it just lingered as a soggy mess. This was when I lived somewhere a little less dry than where I am now.

My coop has a dirt floor and I follow something similar to the deep litter method, though it's probably too dry to be actual DLM. I do scrape off the roosts and such at least 2-3 times a week. Before I moved I had my coop elevated and the floor covered in linoleum and I still only cleaned it out about every 9 months. How long you can go does depend on your square footage and how many birds you have in that area. I would go broke trying to do a complete cleanout of my 8x10 coop each week lol.

 

[ValerieJ]

I tried straw at first but it didn't dry out as well as hay plus the stems are hollow so it can harbor mites easier (so I'm told). I found hay breaks down nicely and doesn't wick up the rain like the straw does. The one time I used straw I ended up having to haul it all out of there because it just lingered as a soggy mess. This was when I lived somewhere a little less dry than where I am now.

My coop has a dirt floor and I follow something similar to the deep litter method, though it's probably too dry to be actual DLM. I do scrape off the roosts and such at least 2-3 times a week. Before I moved I had my coop elevated and the floor covered in linoleum and I still only cleaned it out about every 9 months. How long you can go does depend on your square footage and how many birds you have in that area. I would go broke trying to do a complete cleanout of my 8x10 coop each week lol.

I have heard of DLM but that only works in the large coops like yours I think. I have 3 smaller coops (2 4x4 and 1 4x10). They are chicken sized and not walk in size. So, I think they need to be cleaned out every week, and spot cleaned more often than that. I'm definitely thinking of going to one large coop like yours. Meantime, I'm pretty happy to hear I can use hay. There would be some great benefits to it.

 

[Criticalicious]

We covered the top of our run with plastic sheeting and tarps to protect it from turning into mud. It's not pretty but it's dry most of the time. And it was cheap. For ground cover we use pine needles because they're plentiful and cheap here. With that much damp, you may want to avoid any kind of straw or hay, in case it begins to mold. Aspergillus can be nasty.

 

[ValerieJ]

We covered the top of our run with plastic sheeting and tarps to protect it from turning into mud. It's not pretty but it's dry most of the time. And it was cheap. For ground cover we use pine needles because they're plentiful and cheap here. With that much damp, you may want to avoid any kind of straw or hay, in case it begins to mold. Aspergillus can be nasty.

Pine needles? That's an awesome idea. They are free in this yard! Love that idea.