Hi and welcome to BYC
from the San Diego High desert.
I have my coop and run all ready to go! I just need to add the bedding. What do you recommend for bedding in the coop and chicken run? Is dirt alone OK in the run? I have read a little on building up on the bedding and laying down DE, and cleaning it out not as often. This sounds like the best method for me and my family and am looking forward to trying it. Where do I get the DE? Would you put this down when you put the new bedding down for the first time or when you add some the next time? Aghhh...I have been reading on this for months and now that I am ready to get chicks I don't feel like I know anything!
Deep breath you arent going to make mistakes on this .... Learn a little but no mistakes. First of all what kind of environment do you live in..... Also what is available in your area. Some stuff is better in one situation than another. Also wether or not you are in the city with a small coop or out in the country with a little space to work with.
I would use dirt or sand in the run. Easy to keep clean and neat and it drains very very well. Fewer muddy spots in the rainy season. Chickens are excellent defoliators.... So the run will be picked clean in no time. You will rarely see poo in the run unless you have A LOT of chickens.
Some people use pine needles
Some people use leaf litter
Some people use Pine shavings
Some people use Rice hulls
Some people use shredded paper
Some people use straw
Big list hunh. All of the above are biodegradable and work well in the compost heap. Wether you use deep litter or not they will still need to be cleaned out completely every so often. So you need to put it somewhere. If not the compost heap then the trash. Where I have we have green bins for Yard waste.... works for me.
Some people use Sand in the coop as well. coop looks good clean it with a cat scoop. Not biodegradable so if you feel the need to clean it out you need somewhere to dispose of it.
Me.... I use dirt in the run and occasionally Rice hulls in the coop area. Just during the winter.
I really like the concept of Poop hammocks. I am going through a coop rebuild right now and Poop hammocks are on my go to list. They are made of shade cloth or canvas and hang under the roosts to catch the droppings the chickens make during the night. Because inside the coop this is where most of the poo is deposited. Some people build poop trays and clean those out daily. The poop hammock works better in my opinion than a tray because it causes the poo to naturally dry out and you get less smell and you dont have to clean it as often. Also when you do clean it you have ONLY poo nothing else to add to the compost heap. So the rice hulls will go away and sand will go in for landing spots.
here is a thread discussing it down towards the bottom of the first page are pictures.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/534564/poop-hammock-rocks
In a coop with a floor situation I would use Some sort of bedding to protect feet as they land from hopping off the perch. What ever is readily available inexpensive. The feed store may have several selections. Ranging from Rice hulls to shavings to straw. Often times the feed store will let you fill a trash bag with the stuff raked around the hay bales. Free.
Stay with grass or straw for bedding if you want that. Alfalfa is something chickens like to eat. And it should be fed but fed sparingly.
DE.... if you are going to use it buy
Food Grade at the
feed store. Even though its considered safe, It should be handled and dispensed with a mask. DO NOT buy the stuff for swimming pools it has been heated to form a sharper crystalline structure and can cause Silicosis if you breath it. Diatomaceous Earth is good for crawling insects slicing through the waxy coatings on flexible joints causing insects to desiccate.
I consider DE a preventative. If you have an infestation of some sort it needs to be dealt with, with organic or inorganic sprays there are good ones out there in each group. This can come from wild birds and or adopted chickens that havent been quarantined long enough.
I am still on the fence about using it as a feed through.... for worms. Its a hot subject I will make my own mind up on it eventually..... LOL. All I can say about that is it cant hurt the digestive system. But if we should wear masks while handling it what about the chickens living in it or consuming it.
So in a nutshell. Use what you like what is easy or logical for your needs. If you dont like it try something else. Free stuff is good too like pine needles or leaf litter....
deb
Oh and sorry I seem to be in Book writing mode .....
Here
