Run advice

[Prof-grubbly-plank]

I am new to chicken keeping and am trying to improve their run. I initially started with small rocks because that’s what our yard is (we live on a small island and that is the terrain of most yards) but I’m obviously realizing that this is getting hard to keep up with cleaning. My current plan is to attempt to dig out all of the rocks and then start the deep litter method with wood chips so that I can use it as compost in my garden in the future. Does anyone have any advice or recommendations to my plan? Will it be a bad idea to dig out the rocks since it will be very tough to get every single pebble? Would you recommend wood chips or something else instead? I’m open to any and all ideas!!! Thank you so much

 

[aart]

Would you post pics of the rocks?
...also, where in this wide world do you live?
Wood chips might not be a good place to start if you want good garden soil, depends on how big the 'wood chips' are.

I like coarse wood chippings for the run, keeps the poops from stinking with no 'cleaning' at all.

 

[Prof-grubbly-plank]

Would you post pics of the rocks?
...also, where in this wide world do you live?
Wood chips might not be a good place to start if you want good garden soil, depends on how big the 'wood chips' are.

I like coarse wood chippings for the run, keeps the poops from stinking with no 'cleaning' at all.

I’ll attach some pictures of the floor I’m working with and the run! We are located on the beach of New Jersey. Hot (not too hot) summers and cold, icy, windy winters. We also have their run sheltered from the elements for the season with a few slits around the top. Do you think that is enough ventilation? They have a tunnel out into/around our property that is covered with chicken wire and fully exposed to fresh air which is where they spend most of their time if not eating, drinking, or laying. Thank you for any and all advice!

 

[Bawkbok]

Why go to the effort of digging out all the rock? It would provide a nice base layer and allow for water drainage. I would suggest adding the mulch layer over the rock, mixed with dry leaves and perhaps some pine pellets to absorb moisture. We are using the deep litter method on the run and it is dry which is what you want. A true compost pile requires good moisture in order to break down into soil for the garden. I don't think you would want that much moisture in the chicken run.
We could be doing things backward as many people here intend to use their chicken run dirt for the gardens, whereas, we have a separate large compost pile that includes kitchen scraps, yard debris, leaves, chicken poop after cleaning the coop and pine shavings from the coop. This -- after cooking for a year or two -- is what is added to the garden and some of the good earthy dirt goes back into the chicken run.

 

[Prof-grubbly-plank]

Why go to the effort of digging out all the rock? It would provide a nice base layer and allow for water drainage. I would suggest adding the mulch layer over the rock, mixed with dry leaves and perhaps some pine pellets to absorb moisture. We are using the deep litter method on the run and it is dry which is what you want. A true compost pile requires good moisture in order to break down into soil for the garden. I don't think you would want that much moisture in the chicken run.
We could be doing things backward as many people here intend to use their chicken run dirt for the gardens, whereas, we have a separate large compost pile that includes kitchen scraps, yard debris, leaves, chicken poop after cleaning the coop and pine shavings from the coop. This -- after cooking for a year or two -- is what is added to the garden and some of the good earthy dirt goes back into the chicken run.

Your method sounds great and would definitely make my life a lot easier. For the deep litter method, when it comes down to taking it all out and refreshing it, what do you do with all of the mulch/leaves/pine pellets? The only reason I was planning to remove the rocks was so that I could dispose of it into my garden (without rocks mixed in) when it is time to refresh it. But if I can layer right over top of the rocks with no issue, I’d much rather do that! Thank you for your advice and suggestions

 

[rosemarythyme]

We also have their run sheltered from the elements for the season with a few slits around the top. Do you think that is enough ventilation? They have a tunnel out into/around our property that is covered with chicken wire and fully exposed to fresh air which is where they spend most of their time

How big is the tunnel? I assume the tunnel is on the ground, and if that's the case I'm going to say no, you don't have enough ventilation. Especially in winter you need moisture to escape, and that means plenty of cross ventilation up high. I do not climate protect my run in winter (but of course different climate, different set up) but I'd imagine you'd want at least one entire run wall open, or a good foot or more around the entire top of the run open for ventilation.

Did you wrap the entire top too? Do you get snow or heavy rain and if so, how much? Snow weight can build up easily and take down a run, and you neither have a sloped solid roof to help shed snow nor extra supports to hold it up should weight build up.

For the deep litter method, when it comes down to taking it all out and refreshing it, what do you do with all of the mulch/leaves/pine pellets?

If you're inclined to put in the work you can sift out anything bigger (intact mulch, the rocks) and that will give you garden dirt/compost without having to remove what's there.

I don't have a rocky run but I didn't want anything chunky in my garden soil: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/prepping-deep-litter-for-fall.1599199/

 

[Sefirothe]

Your method sounds great and would definitely make my life a lot easier. For the deep litter method, when it comes down to taking it all out and refreshing it, what do you do with all of the mulch/leaves/pine pellets? The only reason I was planning to remove the rocks was so that I could dispose of it into my garden (without rocks mixed in) when it is time to refresh it. But if I can layer right over top of the rocks with no issue, I’d much rather do that! Thank you for your advice and suggestions

You could always sift the rocks out later when removing the compost. @gtaus has a pretty cool setup for that.

Basically it boils down to manual labor now or manual labor later I guess?

 

[gtaus]

You could always sift the rocks out later when removing the compost. @gtaus has a pretty cool setup for that.

Thanks for the shout out. Here is a picture of my "cement mixer compost sifter."

I have different screens that I can put into the sifting barrel. My smallest screen is 1/4 X 1/4 inch which sorts fine compost for potting plants. I mainly use a 1/2 X 1/2-inch screen for everyday compost that I mix with topsoil for my raised beds. If I take out the screen inserts, the outer screen is 1/2 X 1 inch which I sometimes use for a coarser top mulch, while still sifting out the larger debris.

My setup is great for the quantity of compost I make and use. In 15 minutes, I can sift as much compost as it used to take me about 2 hours to sift by hand using a wood frame and screen on top of a wheelbarrow.

I'm at an age where it was totally worth the investment to reduce my manual labor. I more than doubled my raised bed gardens now that I can make and sift so much compost so easily.

If you are interested in something like that, just do a search on "cement mixer compost sifter" here on the BYC forum and you will find posts on how I made it and how I use it.

 

[Bawkbok]

what do you do with all of the mulch/leaves/pine pellets?

It all breaks down and decomposes in the run due to the chickens walking on and scratching through it, not to mention I mash it when walking around. I actually have to add more matter to it every couple of months. Several times a week, I take a hand trowel and do a mini tilling to turn and churn it to further help it break down. Since it's been particularly dry here (dry season for us until Spring rain returns), on a warm day while the girls are out, I will take the hose and apply a fine mist to lightly wet it to reduce the dust and only to make it moist enough to till over. I've only done this twice.
We have no fly issue in hot weather and the run does not smell bad, if anything it has a nice earthy smell.
Sand for us is bad, I've tried it. While it drains well, it stays wet and smells bad in the run, probably because the run is fully shaded but it is open air so I don't understand that issue, but I eliminated the sand.

 

[gtaus]

I take a hand trowel and do a mini tilling to turn and churn it to further help it break down.

I just let the chickens do the work. If I have an area that needs more turning, I'll just toss some chicken scratch on top of it and the chickens will scratch and peck the litter, turning it over. That usually is good enough.

A pitchfork works great for turning litter. Also, I have a small battery-operated mini tiller that I have used a few times. I don't normally use it for turning the litter, but it does a good job in breaking up the litter before I fork it out to use as compost.

I have an older version without the rear wheels. It works good for small jobs, like in the chicken run.

I will take the hose and apply a fine mist to lightly wet it to reduce the dust and only to make it moist enough to till over.

I keep my chicken run composting system at that magic wrung out sponge state. Thats when composting works best. My chicken run is open to the weather. I only have bird netting on top to prevent aerial attacts.

We have no fly issue in hot weather and the run does not smell bad, if anything it has a nice earthy smell.

A properly balanced system should not smell. Like you, my chicken run smells like a forest floor. Very nice. If you ever do have a bad odor smell from the run, just add more carbon like wood chips, leaves, etc...

Sand for us is bad, I've tried it. While it drains well, it stays wet and smells bad in the run, probably because the run is fully shaded but it is open air so I don't understand that issue, but I eliminated the sand.

Agreed. I live on a lake and have all the free sand I could ever want. Years ago, I tried to use my free sand, but it always smelled bad and needed to be replaced all the time. It was too much work for me, free or not. Then I found out about deep litter for the chicken run and deep bedding for the coop and have never gone back to using sand.

I know some people only use sand and it works for them. Good for them. I'm just saying that it did not work for me, where I live, in my setup. I advocate for using any free resources that work for you.