to Rake or not to Rake ? ( Leaves)

[Jenbirdee]

who rakes leaves in the duck (and chicken) yard?
I have in the past raked them and use the blower for hours on end to send them out into the forest .. some years and I didn’t rake it all but when they piled up and got wet, it was soggy slippery muck to walk through.
this year I’m considering just partially raking the areas that I walk through but leaving the leaves everywhere else. do I have to worry about leaf muck diseases or anything.?

 

[Rangergord]

Rake them up when dry, then put in the chicken coop and run to absorb moisture and manure. They make great litter that breaks down into excellent compost.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

I don't have any trees that drop leaves into my run, but I do rake all the leaves that fall from our pecan and oak trees and bag them for the winter. I'll throw a bag or 2 into the run whenever it looks like it needs a little refresh along with some pine mulch. Then come spring, I shovel a bunch of it out and refresh my garden.

 

[Sally PB]

I rake up leaves and put them in the run. I'll be doing that soon. They need to dry a bit. We've had a lot of rain in the past couple days.

My nieghbor's mom saves leaves in garbage bags, and puts them in my neighbor's run during the winter. She bagged so many leaves last year, she piled up the bags on the outside of the run as a windbreak.

 

[21hens-incharge]

My run is roofed so maybe that is one difference for me.

I rake all the leaves I can and put them in the run. By spring there are no visible leaves.

I can see that they could be quite slick when wet in a run or walkway that isn't roofed.

@Jenbirdee is your run roofed or open to rain/snow?

If it's open I would be removing most of them too. No one wants to fall in slippery muck.

 

[WingsysRoost]

I collect leaves from other parts of the yard to put them in the chicken yard. I will put some in the covered run, as well, as long as they aren't too damp. The chickens scratch in them over the winter and they are mostly gone by spring. It gives the chickens extra enrichment when they can't go out much because of the snow. If they are particularly wet and slippery, I will push them off to the side or move them to another location so that I don't slip and fall. If they aren't very slippery, I will leave them and let the chickens handle them.

 

[Jenbirdee]

My run is roofed so maybe that is one difference for me.

I rake all the leaves I can and put them in the run. By spring there are no visible leaves.

I can see that they could be quite slick when wet in a run or walkway that isn't roofed.

@Jenbirdee is your run roofed or open to rain/snow?

If it's open I would be removing most of them too. No one wants to fall in slippery muck.

my ducks and chickens share a 3000 square-foot fenced in amusement park obstacle course type yard set up that has lots of hiding places with roofs such as children’s play houses and picnic tables and there is one covered run still standing from my original chicken coop that was a prefab it’s only about 40 ft.² and I don’t think it’s predator proof anymore so I just I leave open for the chickens to go in during the day if it’s raining or snowing, I could throw some leaves in there but I do have tons of leaves and I remember how yucky they got when they’re wet I might make a couple of big leaf piles on one side of their yard because they do like to play in them, but they will get wet. Usually I end up breaking some of it up and tossing it in my compost at some point over the winter. If it gets too gross I’m just trying to minimize how much work I do right now since I’ll be having a surgery in two weeks. I won’t be able to do much for a couple of months, I will have my daughters here helping me with the birds but I’d like to do what I can in advance so it’s not too much crazy work for them.

 

[WingsysRoost]

my ducks and chickens share a 3000 square-foot fenced in amusement park obstacle course type yard set up that has lots of hiding places with roofs such as children’s play houses and picnic tables and there is one covered run still standing from my original chicken coop that was a prefab it’s only about 40 ft.² and I don’t think it’s predator proof anymore so I just I leave open for the chickens to go in during the day if it’s raining or snowing, I could throw some leaves in there but I do have tons of leaves and I remember how yucky they got when they’re wet I might make a couple of big leaf piles on one side of their yard because they do like to play in them, but they will get wet. Usually I end up breaking some of it up and tossing it in my compost at some point over the winter. If it gets too gross I’m just trying to minimize how much work I do right now since I’ll be having a surgery in two weeks. I won’t be able to do much for a couple of months, I will have my daughters here helping me with the birds but I’d like to do what I can in advance so it’s not too much crazy work for them.

If you spread the leaves thinly enough, would your flock handle them before they became an issue?

I find that if I have the leaves spread out really thin and then throw a few handfuls of treats in the leaves to encourage them to scratch around, my chickens will mulch them faster than if they were left in piles.

 

[Jenbirdee]

this is how many leaves are still on the trees ,, and how thick the fallen ones are so far… it’s like perfect right now beautifully spread out. I’m just concerned a lot more is coming lol.

 

[21hens-incharge]

my ducks and chickens share a 3000 square-foot fenced in amusement park obstacle course type yard set up that has lots of hiding places with roofs such as children’s play houses and picnic tables and there is one covered run still standing from my original chicken coop that was a prefab it’s only about 40 ft.² and I don’t think it’s predator proof anymore so I just I leave open for the chickens to go in during the day if it’s raining or snowing, I could throw some leaves in there but I do have tons of leaves and I remember how yucky they got when they’re wet I might make a couple of big leaf piles on one side of their yard because they do like to play in them, but they will get wet. Usually I end up breaking some of it up and tossing it in my compost at some point over the winter. If it gets too gross I’m just trying to minimize how much work I do right now since I’ll be having a surgery in two weeks. I won’t be able to do much for a couple of months, I will have my daughters here helping me with the birds but I’d like to do what I can in advance so it’s not too much crazy work for them.

Yeah roofing is definitely not an option. Great space though!

I guess piling them up or removing most is about all anyone could do there.

Sorry to hear you will be going through a surgery. I sure hope all will be speedy with a great outcome.

Can the girls rake paths periodically while you recover?