Coop litter going into run

[lintlicker]

Hey Yall,

Central New York here. Been a very SNOWY and rainy last 6 months. We have a 18x13 coop inside of a 50x50 run with around 40 chickens. They, naturally, decimated the grass that was there and have been researching ideas to add some shrubs etc into their run and maybe some lattice with grapes pole beans.

-Ground is a mix of mostly SAND and some dirt...get a little standing water after a rain in a couple of spots but not too bad.

-Sounds like the wood chips will prevent it from being a mud fest and give bugs a place to hide and chickens something to pick through.

The question I have is how many of you add your coop substrate directly to run? We also use a tarp underneath the roost so I wasnt sure if we could start throwing that right into the run as well or should we avoid that. Typically we take the wood shavings from the coop and toss them in a pile out back. We have plenty of leaves in the fall and shrub/bush clippings we do add to the run every so often as well. Read mixed reviews on adding coop substrates directly to the run on google/here but wanted to see what some of you northern US folks thought, thanks in advance.

 

[aart]

Best bet IMO is to use coarse wood chippings in the run.
If you have space to store a truckload they are usually free from a tree trimmer, then you can add a few inches at a time as needed.

2 truck loads:

 

[lintlicker]

definitely have plenty of space for a few truckloads! Appreciate you getting back to me on this, reaching out to a couple of tree companies for inquiry as well as the county...worth a shot. Hoping to get a couple of loads this week to get started!

 

[aart]

definitely have plenty of space for a few truckloads! Appreciate you getting back to me on this, reaching out to a couple of tree companies for inquiry as well as the county...worth a shot. Hoping to get a couple of loads this week to get started!

Great!
You only need to add an inch or so.
You don't want to have it too deep with freshly chipped tree limbs,
especially if there are leaves mixed in as it can cause a toxic mold/fungus bloom.

 

[lintlicker]

ill definitely keep that in mind, currently no leaves in there so good to go with that, could we take the pine shavings from the coop and just rake them out into the run as well?

 

[perkolator]

Yes, you can mix up all the materials. I've taken bedding from the coop area and put it in the run many times, but often I take the fines from the bottom and compost that, the coarse goes to the run. I too use wood chip mulch as the base material, but also sometimes add shavings from their nest boxes, wood pellets, leaves, etc.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The question I have is how many of you add your coop substrate directly to run?

I'm not northern but I'll add my opinion. There are way too many variables involved to either say "yes, always" or "no, never". Your climate is one of those variables, not so much cold or hot but how wet is it. How much poop is mixed with that substrate? Volumes and areas involved. How often or even time of the year are you talking about. Composition of that substrate. I'm sure I'm missing a lot of things.

For this to work you need to turn your run into a compost pile. Have a good mix of carbons (browns) and nitrogen (greens) to efficiently feed the bugs that break it down. Have it damp enough so the aerobic bugs that eat it can thrive but not so wet they turn anaerobic and stink. People achieve this in different ways, some dumping their coops into the run. Some put in garden wastes, kitchen wastes, rake leaves and dump them in, grass cuttings, wood chips, and/or who knows what else.

Drainage is a huge part of this. If water drains into your run and stands, it makes it hard. If water drains from your run to other places, great, it has a decent chance of working.

-Ground is a mix of mostly SAND and some dirt...get a little standing water after a rain in a couple of spots but not too bad.

This doesn't sound too bad but you may need some trial and error.

We also use a tarp underneath the roost so I wasnt sure if we could start throwing that right into the run as well or should we avoid that.

You are talking about pure poop. If it builds up to any thickness it can hold water and stay wet. Some people mix it in but that is risky to me. I use droppings boards to collect that and put it into a separate compost pile.

I don't know how well this will actually work for you. I'm a believer in the trial and error method. Try it. If it works, great. If it doesn't, try something different.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I compost my poop from the coop separately, but the bedding, nest box materials, etc. from the coop all go into the run during clean out. That'd be a mix of wood chips, wood shavings and hemp. I don't see a reason to not reuse it again in the run.

 

[1stflockMama]

OK we decided to get wood shavings to help with the mud!

 

[rosemarythyme]

OK we decided to get wood shavings to help with the mud!

Chunky wood chips (or bark nuggets or untreated mulch, if you don't have room to store a pile of chips) would be far better to deal with mud.

Shavings unfortunately just get water logged and add to the mess, they don't allow for aeration and drainage in the same way.