What material do you use for your run’s floor?

[ntdd]

What do you use on the floor of your run? What does your maintenance look like? I’m thinking of switching out my sand and doing something else since I’m starting to get a smell. Wood chips? Deep litter? Curious what everyone else does.
Do you remove waste from wood chips or do you turn them over like DLM? One of my issues is we get a decent amount of rain, snow and it’s humid in the summer. The run is covered but the edges get wet. 5 birds in a 12x10 run if that matters

 

[black_cat]

I've got a mix of topsoil/whatever the cheapest dirt at home depot is, mulchy ground cover from the woodsy area in our yard, leaves, shavings, straw, and sand. I never need to clean it at all.

 

[DobieLover]

I use wood chips under a run with a solid roof. I've never removed anything. Every few months I will rake out the dry center area towards the edges where it does get wet from rain blowing in.

 

[aart]

What kind of bedding you use may depend on how you manage the manure.
This is about cleaning, but covers my big picture

-I use poop boards under roosts with thin(<1/2") layer of sand/PDZ mix, sifted daily(takes 5-10mins) into bucket going to friends compost.
-Scrape big or wet poops off roost and ramps as needed.
-Pine shavings on coop floor, add some occasionally, totally changed out once or twice a year, old shavings added to run.
- My runs have semi-deep litter(cold composting), never clean anything out, just add smaller dry materials on occasion, add larger wood chippings as needed.
Aged ramial wood chippings are best IMO.
-Nests are bedded with straw, add some occasionally, change out if needed(broken egg).

There is no odor, unless a fresh cecal has been dropped and when I open the bucket to add more poop.
That's how I keep it 'clean', have not found any reason to clean 'deeper' in 7 years.

 

[ntdd]

I've got a mix of topsoil/whatever the cheapest dirt at home depot is, mulchy ground cover from the woodsy area in our yard, leaves, shavings, straw, and sand. I never need to clean it at all.

Do you pick up any poop? Turn it?

 

[black_cat]

Do you pick up any poop? Turn it?

If it looks packed down or gets muddy, then I’ll turn it. If it’s not that bad, I throw some scratch in and they do it for me. If it gets smelly, I add some sweet pzd. I don’t pick up poop at all, as it gets mixed in when they scratch around.

 

[cmom]

I have approximately 12,000 Sq ft. No problems. I realize my situation is different that the average chicken keeper. Good luck...

 

[ntdd]

How would one start DLM in a run? Start with just wood chips? Pine shavings? Leaves? A mixture of all? I could also rake up some of the "forrest floor" that is at the back of my property if that would help get it going, its dirt, sticks, leaves, little pieces of bark... any help appreciated, thanks everyone!

 

[rosemarythyme]

How would one start DLM in a run? Start with just wood chips? Pine shavings? Leaves? A mixture of all? I could also rake up some of the "forrest floor" that is at the back of my property if that would help get it going, its dirt, sticks, leaves, little pieces of bark... any help appreciated, thanks everyone!

I'd start with a base of wood chips - aged if possible, otherwise use thin layers of fresh chips and build it up over time. Add additional organic matter bit by bit over time, as you get it. The "forest floor" material should be a great add in as it brings in microbes that exist in your environment, plus the different sized materials (branches, bark) will additionally help the litter with aeration. I save dried leaves in fall for use year round, and add dried grass in spring and summer. Garden trimmings usually in fall as I clear out my garden beds, etc.

I churn up my litter maybe twice a year, just to maintain drainage and let materials aerate a bit better.

I do pick up large, obvious poops on a daily basis, mostly because I don't want to step in it while working in the run, and because I want to use it in my compost bins.

 

[3KillerBs]

I don't have wood chips in the current run because it has to go back to lawn once the chickens move to their permanent coop, but I have a pile of them waiting and another pile to be had in the form of a big, dead pine that the tree service is supposed to take down by the end of the month.

I use a lot of pine straw -- because it's free for the raking on my property (and DH bought me a new, used lawn sweeper that holds half-again as much as the old one did). I also use some straw and some leaves.

When the chickens finally move to the new coop I'll rake it out and use it to mulch the muscadines, but I have no need to do any maintenance other than occasionally throw in in some scratch to get them to turn over areas I think look like they might pack down and to fill in holes that threaten to twist my ankles.

Any raking of the run I do is more to remove things like hard squash shells or lost roast bones that are looking more untidy than my family wants to tolerate than to do anything about poop.