Switching run material

[Kirajoy21]

I’m new to chicken keeping and when we built our coop and run I used hay to cover the floor of the run. We’re in eastern New York and only half of the run has a roof, the other half is covered in chicken wire. It works okay but the hay gets wet and nasty pretty quickly. I’ve been doing a lot of reading and am thinking of changing to wood chips but I was unsure whether or not I can just cover over the hay or if I should clean everything out first.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I’m new to chicken keeping and when we built our coop and run I used hay to cover the floor of the run. We’re in eastern New York and only half of the run has a roof, the other half is covered in chicken wire. It works okay but the hay gets wet and nasty pretty quickly. I’ve been doing a lot of reading and am thinking of changing to wood chips but I was unsure whether or not I can just cover over the hay or if I should clean everything out first.

You might be able to mix them in, but I would worry about mildew. If it were me, I'd clean everything out and start anew.

 

[Kirajoy21]

You might be able to mix them in, but I would worry about mildew. If it were me, I'd clean everything out and start anew.

Thank you for your advice, I’ll rake it all out before adding the wood chips. I was planning on adding some diatomaceous earth, is there anything else that I should add?

 

[3KillerBs]

If the hay is already nasty then clean it out.

Coarse wood chips are often considered the gold standard for the control of mud and odor so they should serve you well in that climate.

I was planning on adding some diatomaceous earth,

Don't bother.

DE is a respiratory irritant and loses what theoretical effectiveness it *might* have as soon as it gets wet.

Besides, in your run you WANT bugs to live in the litter to help the composting process and to provide your chickens with yummy snacks.

 

[Kirajoy21]

If the hay is already nasty then clean it out.

Coarse wood chips are often considered the gold standard for the control of mud and odor so they should serve you well in that climate.



Don't bother.

DE is a respiratory irritant and loses what theoretical effectiveness it *might* have as soon as it gets wet.

Besides, in your run you WANT bugs to live in the litter to help the composting process and to provide your chickens with yummy snacks.

Thanks! With the wood chips will I still have to clean it out as often or will it just eventually break down like mulch does in the garden?

 

[3KillerBs]

Thanks! With the wood chips will I still have to clean it out as often or will it just eventually break down like mulch does in the garden?

As long as you don't have either too many chickens for the volume of litter overloading it with manure or too wet a run it should compost nicely (when not frozen, of course). This is what is usually referred to as a Deep Litter system.

 

[aart]

With the wood chips will I still have to clean it out as often or will it just eventually break down like mulch does in the garden?

I use wood chippings and have never 'cleaned' out the run in 9 years.
They only need to be a few inches deep.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/albums/runs.7427859/

 

[K0k0shka]

Wood chips are the best! That's what I have (plus other plant material mixed in, whatever is available seasonally - lawn clippings, yard waste, dry leaves etc.) I don't clean the run. The chickens mix it around when scratching, and it composts. The wood chips take years to compost, but they help the poop and the other plant matter get ground up and composted when being scratched through and mixed.

One thing stood out to me from your post - chicken wire. It would be good to look into replacing that with something else, as chicken wire can easily be chewed through by predators. A lot of the common chicken predators can climb, and will have no issue reaching your chicken wire and getting through it. Have you had any winters with your chickens yet? Chicken wire also collects snow - the holes aren't big enough for the snow to fall though, especially heavy, wet snow. So depending on how the frame of your run was built, and how sturdy it is, the collected snow may weigh it down and collapse it. If you think your structure can withstand the maximum snow load you may get in your winters, then the best thing to cover the run with would be a welded wire or hardware cloth mesh that will stop predators from getting in. If you're not sure that it will withstand the snow load, then get something with larger holes - like 2"x4", but still welded wire. That way smaller things like weasels can still get in through the holes, but at least you won't be getting any big things chewing through, like raccoons. And make sure the chickens are locked in a fully predator-proof coop at night, so the smaller things that can slip through the run top won't be able to get into the coop itself.

 

[SamLockwood]

I'm using wood chips (specifically what they call pine bark nuggets from Home Depot). Six 2cu ft bags covered the run & the area under the raised coop (about 8'x16' total) about 2-3 inches deep.

Every few days I've got to rake them a bit because they love digging in them & tend to fling them about, but they dry out quickly if they get wet and it really helps keep the smell down.

When shopping around be careful you're not buying anything that's marked "weed control" as some brands they treat with herbicides. I don't know if they're "chicken safe" or not but I wouldn't take any chances.

 

[Kirajoy21]

Wood chips are the best! That's what I have (plus other plant material mixed in, whatever is available seasonally - lawn clippings, yard waste, dry leaves etc.) I don't clean the run. The chickens mix it around when scratching, and it composts. The wood chips take years to compost, but they help the poop and the other plant matter get ground up and composted when being scratched through and mixed.

One thing stood out to me from your post - chicken wire. It would be good to look into replacing that with something else, as chicken wire can easily be chewed through by predators. A lot of the common chicken predators can climb, and will have no issue reaching your chicken wire and getting through it. Have you had any winters with your chickens yet? Chicken wire also collects snow - the holes aren't big enough for the snow to fall though, especially heavy, wet snow. So depending on how the frame of your run was built, and how sturdy it is, the collected snow may weigh it down and collapse it. If you think your structure can withstand the maximum snow load you may get in your winters, then the best thing to cover the run with would be a welded wire or hardware cloth mesh that will stop predators from getting in. If you're not sure that it will withstand the snow load, then get something with larger holes - like 2"x4", but still welded wire. That way smaller things like weasels can still get in through the holes, but at least you won't be getting any big things chewing through, like raccoons. And make sure the chickens are locked in a fully predator-proof coop at night, so the smaller things that can slip through the run top won't be able to get into the coop itself.

This will be our first winter with our chickens and I really want to make sure we care for them properly. We made the base of the run using pallets and then covered that with the chicken wire. Only the top few feet of the sides and over the top of one half are covered solely with chicken wire, should we cover that with hardware cloth too? We buried all of the frame posts down 2 feet and cemented them and are planning on adding in some braces along the corners just to make sure it will hold. I included pictures to better explain, any advice you have is appreciated!