Run mess

[J99]

i keep the inside of my coop with pine bedding and it’s enclosed so it’s easy to maintain. The outside area is gross it rains and gets muddy mixed with poop and spilled food then I scrape the two inches of goop out and may sprinkle some bedding occasionally to dry it but then it rains again. Now I know it’s dirt and will go back into the soil but with some food and feces mixed in I’m afraid it will get maggots or something gross if I just let it be ? So what should I do ?

 

[jreardon1918]

Try putting yard waste, leaves, grass clippings, wood chips... over time this may start to resemble a forest floor. We're just head a rainy morning the fenced in run is in great shape.

 

[ValerieJ]

I use straw and just keep adding layers. We're in the rainy state of Washington, so this is something we deal with a lot. I have made an outdoor shelter that stays dry also. There are some soggy places where I walk in and out every day that get particularly bad, so I just keep layering straw on top of straw. It helps, but nothing stops the rain. Luckily for me it is a small portion of their run which will be resolved next year with a new coop in a new location.

 

[DobieLover]

i keep the inside of my coop with pine bedding and it’s enclosed so it’s easy to maintain. The outside area is gross it rains and gets muddy mixed with poop and spilled food then I scrape the two inches of goop out and may sprinkle some bedding occasionally to dry it but then it rains again. Now I know it’s dirt and will go back into the soil but with some food and feces mixed in I’m afraid it will get maggots or something gross if I just let it be ? So what should I do ?

I don't know how the area you are in handles branch waste. Where I am, it is collected by the municipalities, run through a chipper (and one municipality also runs it through a shredder) and they put huge piles out for the residents to take for free.
I put down about a 4-6" thick layer of wood chips in my run, but my run is also covered with a solid roof. Regardless, the thick layer of wood chips allows drainage and as the birds scratch around in the chips then turn the poop in and it cold composts.

There are organizations that you can sign up for free dump truck loads of wood chips that can be delivered to your home. Here are a few:
https://getchipdrop.com/?ref=ga&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqtT94LGZ5AIVUluGCh0I_Q0aEAAYASAAEgIyE_D_BwE

https://freewoodchips.net/

https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2017/10/chip-drop-get-free-wood-chip-mulch-delivered/

 

[K0k0shka]

There are organizations that you can sign up for free dump truck loads of wood chips that can be delivered to your home. Here are a few:
https://getchipdrop.com/?ref=ga&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqtT94LGZ5AIVUluGCh0I_Q0aEAAYASAAEgIyE_D_BwE

https://freewoodchips.net/

https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2017/10/chip-drop-get-free-wood-chip-mulch-delivered/

Wow this is so extremely useful!!! I had no idea such a service existed. Thank you for sharing!

 

[DobieLover]

Wow this is so extremely useful!!! I had no idea such a service existed. Thank you for sharing!

You are very welcome.
Please read through all the nuances of the service. Sometimes they tell you that you may end up with a tractor trailer load of wood chips dumped in your driveway!
Another idea is to call local arborists directly and ask for a load of chips. Sometimes they need a place to dump the chipped wood and will do that for free.

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

My run is mulch, works great with little to no smell. I just rake it over every couple days or so.

 

[K0k0shka]

You are very welcome.
Please read through all the nuances of the service. Sometimes they tell you that you may end up with a tractor trailer load of wood chips dumped in your driveway!
Another idea is to call local arborists directly and ask for a load of chips. Sometimes they need a place to dump the chipped wood and will do that for free.

Oh yes, I'll definitely need to look further into it and ask lots of questions, because I'll need relatively small amounts, and I don't even have a driveway, haha... packed city street... so we'll see, maybe I can team up with other chicken owners in my area and we can split a load or something. Now that I know this kind of thing exists, I can call around... Arborists, the DPW, etc.

 

[goldysgirl]

I use mulch. Consistently wet areas can cause illness, foot problems

 

[J99]

Wow you guys are awesome . I love these ideas