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OK it's my turn to try to answer some of your questions. I had to think about it for awhile.
I have tried both shavings and straw. I definitely prefer straw in the coop. The shavings were more apt to pack down; it's also more difficult to remove. I have a rather different coop. It has 2 drawers in it that are on each side of the coop. They pull out and you can see the 4 nests easily. When we first built it we didn't put any lids over the nesting boxes. So the girls were nesting on the nests dividers, it was yucky. The girls were still young enough that they didn't need the nesting boxes yet, but I had to do something. We came up with putting a cover over the boxes and added a roost on top of the top. So now they roost at night and poop on the nesting board cover, that is just wide enough to scrape down with our large dust pan. I use DE and Stall Dry on the board after I clean it. This keeps it fairly dry, and not quite as smelly. We now are able to scrape the poop and I am still looking for a use for fairly clean straight chicken poop. I am a little scared to use it before it is aged. So next year should be a great batch of gardens around my house. For the nesting boxes I use straw. It is fluffier and seems to stay fairly dry. I use DE and Stall Dry in the straw also. Straw when it is nasty dirty does stick together but that makes it easier to dung out. I use a spading fork to pull out the straw. We have been dumping the dirty straw into the yard waste bins. So far we are getting away with it. The best thing I did was limit how many girls I was keeping. I could still drop my flock number down, and things in my coop would be better yet. Overcrowding will cause a coop to be nasty, smelly, and unhealthy for the girls no matter what bedding you use.
In my run we at first just used the natural ground that of course got nasty fairly quickly. We then used a layer or two of shavings to cover the run. It didn't hold up very well, and then it started to really rain the shavings got even more nasty. I got to reading about what others were using in their runs, and I decided on sand. So far that has been the best in the run space. I still get a couple of puddles and I have to add layers about every 3 or4 months. Now a year later we are looking at the daunting task of digging out the run. I have already done a little bit and the layer of shavings is the most compact, nastiest and smelliest layer. The sand is fairly easy to dig up, but my dear DH is feeling over whelmed with the task of digging it out. I have an idea about using a small landscapers style loader. I don't know if I can find one for rent, but I am going to try. Our door to the run is wide enough that we should be able to get it into the run. Then we will have to figure out what to do with the sand and gunk. After we clean out the run we will put down another layer of sand.
For water we are using an auto-water system. I have issues with my birds possibly not having water. (I have been a very bad flock owner in the past.) I also know that my ADD is bad enough to not want to even risk it. I have food hanging in the coop, and a feeder under cover in the run. The girls prefer the feeder outside. I keep the bags of feed in the green house that is right next to the coop. My very smart and talented DH didn't read anything about coop building before he built me this coop. So I am working really hard at appreciating it, both the good parts of it and it's flaws. Also the girls seem to like it and don't seem to care until I pull out the drawer and take away the eggs from under them. I have 3 broody hens right now. The 2 Faverolles really get mad at me when I insist on taking away the eggs and then petting them. Miss Inky tolerates the petting, but that must be a Silkie thing.
The things that I would like to change are first I would like to cover more of my run. We need to cut down the willow tree that is in the corner of the run. The willow always leafs out in early spring and then it starts to rain and the tree looses all of it leaves. The neighbor, who is an arborist, tells me that it is a fungus. But the tree does this every year now and I am ready to get it out of my life and out of the run. I have been very reluctant to get rid of the tree because when it finally stops raining, the tree leafs out again, and then I can't see the neighbors house as well. I have been trying to not see neighbors houses for the past 10 years. I really miss the house I was living in down in Camas. We didn't even need drapes or curtains in that house. Okay back to my list I would also like to move the clump of bamboo that is in the run. We increased the size of the run and it is now inside the run. I love that clump of bamboo. I also am not overly fond of the drawers on the coop. They are fairly heavy and some days I hurt bad enough that pulling them out, and pushing them back in, is quite the chore. I would also like to have more roosting space, so that all the girls have a spot over a poop tray. I would like to have an easier method of putting food into the feeder inside the run. I am sure I have other things I would like to tweak, but I am a having a hard time remembering them all tonight. I will have to tuck this wish list into a Word document, and add to it as I remember.
I do let the girls out at least once or twice a week, to go bug hunting. I just have lock the puppies into the house so they don't go chicken licking. After I put the girls back in the run I then have to go around the yard with a garden hose and wash the poopoo into the lawn, so that the dirty little puppies don't go out and eat it. I keep hoping that it is diluted enough that to be just organic fertilizer. I am praying that it won't hurt the lawn because it is so fresh. I also give the girls all the vegi trimmings from the kitchen, and some grass clippings when we mow the lawn. I also weed and they get anything that I know is safe. I have been known to raid the neighbor's yards as well when I see a big dandelion getting ready to bloom.
On the moldy food, I have been following a thread about some chicks that ate some moldy food, I don't know if they will make it. I have a whole bag of food that got left in the rain for awhile, and when I opened it up today I found mold in it. I am going to throw the whole bag out rather than risk my girl's health. This will mean that I will not be leaving a bag of feed out in the rain again. I try to never make the same mistake twice. I prefer to be creative and make new mistake every time, and I am very good at making mistakes.
Well goodnight to all and best wishes on all of your families and flocks.
