Woot we have a bouncing baby coop

[blackdog043]

I had been going to wait and let the chickens enjoy destroying the grass before putting in the wood shavings or mulch - what's the difference between those? - but if you think it's better I can start in with that.

Don't use pine shavings in the run. Use either tree trimming chips from a tree company or undyed mulch, like cypress from Lowes. The only reason I would cover the grass right of way, is to keep the flies away. You should be ok for a couple weeks without covering the grass. Once you start seeing flies, I would get the chips or mulch down quick.

I do want that kind of bedding on top of the hdpe floor in the coop, right?

As well as the sweet pdz in the poop board tray?

I use pine shavings inside the coop and sprinkle a little PDZ in it also. If it starts to smell, I add some more shavings to freshen it up. I clean it out once a year or longer. I use the white pine shaving bags from TSC, it has less dust than their yellow bags.

Yes, PDZ in the poop board. I have it 1/2" or less deep. There is no need to have it any deeper. I made a board with eye hooks to level it out after I scoop the poop. I also have a wire office basket that I sift the pdz through once a week, this gets all the small pieces of poop out of the PDZ. Here's a pic of my poop board tools.

 

[Celticdragonfly]

Don't use pine shavings in the run. Use either tree trimming chips from a tree company or undyed mulch, like cypress from Lowes. The only reason I would cover the grass right of way, is to keep the flies away. You should be ok for a couple weeks without covering the grass. Once you start seeing flies, I would get the chips or mulch down quick.

I use pine shavings inside the coop and sprinkle a little PDZ in it also.
View attachment 1777284

Why mulch in the run but shavings in the coop?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Why mulch in the run but shavings in the coop?

It's a personal preference. I use the same aged, chunky wood chips in both coop and run. In the coop, because it's free and works well enough (versus bagged shavings which are expensive) and in the run, because it provides good drainage for rain (versus shavings which would just become a waterlogged mess) and once again, it's free.

 

[Celticdragonfly]

It's a personal preference. I use the same aged, chunky wood chips in both coop and run. In the coop, because it's free and works well enough (versus bagged shavings which are expensive) and in the run, because it provides good drainage for rain (versus shavings which would just become a waterlogged mess) and once again, it's free.

How do you get it free?

 

[rosemarythyme]

How do you get it free?

Trees, trees everywhere. Last time we had some dead/problematic trees taken down they chipped the branches and we kept a truckload. You can contact tree services in your area to see if they'll drop off chips for a tip or a small fee, or check getchipdrop.com to see if they work with arborists in your area.

 

[Celticdragonfly]

Okay, I am signing up for getchipdrop. I'm a wee bit intimidated by the "Each delivery is about 20 cubic yards. You must take the entire dump truck load." Um. That sounds like a LOT. How does it show up? Do they just show up with a dump truck and dump it in your driveway? I live in a suburban house. Tell me about how it works?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Okay, I am signing up for getchipdrop. I'm a wee bit intimidated by the "Each delivery is about 20 cubic yards. You must take the entire dump truck load." Um. That sounds like a LOT. How does it show up? Do they just show up with a dump truck and dump it in your driveway? I live in a suburban house. Tell me about how it works?

I haven't used the service myself (since I had my own branches chipped) but this thread has some photos I think: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/getchipdrop-com.1283286/

 

[Celticdragonfly]

Huh. I am torn as to whether or not I should do that. 20 cubic yards would fill the entire volume of my coop and run to a height of over 7 feet. On the other hand, the front yard under the trees is mostly bare dirt, and putting wood chips there might be better? On the other hand, we usually park in the driveway, and I'd need to buy a wheelbarrow, and oy that sounds like a lot of physical labor.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Huh. I am torn as to whether or not I should do that. 20 cubic yards would fill the entire volume of my coop and run to a height of over 7 feet. On the other hand, the front yard under the trees is mostly bare dirt, and putting wood chips there might be better? On the other hand, we usually park in the driveway, and I'd need to buy a wheelbarrow, and oy that sounds like a lot of physical labor.

You could try contacting some tree services directly and see if they'd do a partial drop for you. Some cities even offer free mulch for pickup. Worst case scenario, if you do want to use mulch/wood chips but can't store or move around such large amounts, you can buy bagged, untreated mulch from big box stores and just use that. I just can't resist "free" plus I love being able to reuse materials from my own yard since I know exactly what goes into it.

No matter what litter materials you choose it can be a bit of work to get it installed. Maybe you could pay some high school or college kids to do the labor for you?

 

[Sueby]

It is usually a lot of chips! It might be too much if you don't have the tools, the room or another use besides the run.

We get truckloads because we have a very wet area out back & can use all we get, but we also have heavy equipment. I'd be intimidated if we didnt! Call your town hall & see if they have any - a lot of times they have piles you can go grab. Then you get to decide how much.