Run Question

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Thank you!!!! I love it!!

I bet! I can't wait till mine is finished! My Dad is building it for me!

 

[aart]

Maybe ‘stinks’ is a little harsh. Definitely has an odor when walking past, some days more so than others - but I assume that some odor is expected. In the fall I added dry leaves. I have access to dry pine needles, so I can add that. Dried grass clippings should be coming soon as we start to mow.

Wood chips are approx 3” deep. Should I add more?

Thanks @aart ... I’ll add more dry material and maybe more wood chips in a month or so.

I think you have enough material in there, wonders if the lack of rain slows the process that I observe here.
First thing I would suggest you try is tossing some scratch grains in there to make the chickens to do some 'turning'.

 

[Pekin747]

Maybe ‘stinks’ is a little harsh. Definitely has an odor when walking past, some days more so than others - but I assume that some odor is expected. In the fall I added dry leaves. I have access to dry pine needles, so I can add that. Dried grass clippings should be coming soon as we start to mow.

Wood chips are approx 3” deep. Should I add more?



I do use pine and chopped straw inside the coop and nest boxes. The inside coop is in great shape (I clean under the roosts every morning and pick up large piles in the shavings. Now that we’re predator proof, I can leave the pop door open so they can go out into the run 1st thing in the morning and help keep the coop area cleaner. It’s the run that I was ‘concerned’ about.

Yea I'd try the pine out in the run mixed with wood chips never hurts to try if they are used to the pine already u can always switch it back if it makes no difference

 

[aart]

I think you have enough material in there, wonders if the lack of rain slows the process that I observe here.
First thing I would suggest you try is tossing some scratch grains in there to make the chickens to do some 'turning'.

Was thinking about this....
If all materials are bone dry all the time, I'd add some water...just a very judiciously light spray with the garden hose...might increase odor at first, but should get some breakdown happening.

 

[Sueby]

Thanks! I love it!!! We bought it from a shed distributor near us. Cost a fortune, but we didn’t have the inclination to build. I have a hard enough time getting my husband to predator proof it (just got that done on Sunday) -
Him: “We aren’t working on the coop AGAIN this weekend, are we?”
Me: “Yes, yes we are!”
LOL, love it!

Still need to put up a more substantial fence - this is just bird netting. We added a 24” fence perimeter around the coop (on the ground attached with screws/washers and held down with tent type stakes) to keep the diggers out.

That's funny, pretty much where I'm at! Purchased one because we didn't have time to build, then made mad mods to it & added a run & now we need to add hardware cloth on the ground around it. He has just about had enough of my chicken to do list, especially after spending so much money! But he's a sucker, I caught him taking selfies with one of the girls yesterday.

Anyway, we get boatloads of free wood chips from the towns pile, I'm hoping it works out here & doesn't get stinky, it's pretty wet here right now.

I'm jealous of your coop - it's beautiful!

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Would the pine shavings not give of a nicer smell to cou ter the smell of the manure tho
Thata why I use hay it gives of a nice smell so the hens are more attracted to lay in the nest boxes rather than in the hen house floor






I could be way wrong about this but I'm just going of what a friend of mine told me when he used to use wood chips and stuff like that in the runs

I tried putting hay in with pine shavings in the nest boxes and my hens did not like it at all. I removed the hay and gave them more shavings and they really like it.

 

[Rick&Chris]

That's funny, pretty much where I'm at! Purchased one because we didn't have time to build, then made mad mods to it & added a run & now we need to add hardware cloth on the ground around it. He has just about had enough of my chicken to do list, especially after spending so much money! But he's a sucker, I caught him taking selfies with one of the girls yesterday.

Anyway, we get boatloads of free wood chips from the towns pile, I'm hoping it works out here & doesn't get stinky, it's pretty wet here right now.

I'm jealous of your coop - it's beautiful!

That is too funny, selfies with your girls!! I have yet to see my husband do that ... but time will tell!

I get free wood chips from my neighbor, he’s a landscaper.

Thanks for the compliment, too! I love my coop!

 

[Old Philosopher]

View attachment 1749135 View attachment 1749136 View attachment 1749137 I put wood chips in my covered run ... has been working well, but I really can't clean the poop from it. Should I just rake to turn it over (as I've been doing), add more, or add a different material on top like pine shavings, or take it out and put in sand?

Gosh, these girls are a LOT of work, LOL!

Beautiful set up you have there! Lucky girls!
I'm a low-tech kinda guy, and my laziness is reflected in my chicken run. I have a 16' x 20' foot open yard for the birds. There is a 3' x 6' "loafing shed" in one corner to give them shade in the summer and shelter from sudden thunderstorms the rest of the year. The yard is dirt...period. I throw them scratch every morning, and what weeds/garden scraps that are seasonably available. I also give them kitchen scraps, collected in the "chicken bucket" on by the kitchen sink.
They happily scratch, root and cultivate that plot of dirt to their heart's content, rejoicing at whatever insects or worms get in the way.
Yeah, it's a chicken yard, complete with poop, holes they've dug and scraps (weed stalks) they have declined. Every 18 to 24 months I roll the rototiller into their yard and turn it over properly. I may skim some of the beautiful topsoil off for a flower bed, or planting box. Then I turn them back out into the yard and there is mad scramble for any creepy-crawlies I may have unearthed. Their favorite holiday!
So my advice to any folks stressing over a well manicured chicken run is: don't use any litter and just let 'em be chickens.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

View attachment 1749135 View attachment 1749136 View attachment 1749137 I put wood chips in my covered run ... has been working well, but I really can't clean the poop from it. Should I just rake to turn it over (as I've been doing), add more, or add a different material on top like pine shavings, or take it out and put in sand?

Gosh, these girls are a LOT of work, LOL!

Wow, you have a beautiful set up! I like to use sand because in the morning when I let the girls out, I like to clean the area and I really just don’t like chicken poop! Sand just makes it very easy for me to see and pick up every piece. I visit with the girls a few times a day before I let them out to free range in the evening and every time I go in their area part of my visiting is picking up their poo. It only takes me five minutes each time, but I just really like cleanliness and I have eight chickens, but everything Is usually pretty spotless

 

[elmo]

So much depends on individual preference. I tried wood chips in our run and didn't like it ...I just didn't like the idea of the manure piling up in there. Plus, I noticed the feet of our bantams seemed red and irritated from the chips.

It was a lot of work, but I took out all the chips and put down sand. That was about ten years ago, and I love the sand. I use a reptile litter scoop taped to a long handle to pick out most of the droppings, then once in a while I rake over the sand. There's no odor, plus the hens love to take dust baths in the sand.