Do you Clean out poop from the run?

[SamIamNam786]

I've read that the wood chips (not shavings!) need to be aged, I think at least a year before it can be safe for the chickens.

I used this

 

[rosemarythyme]

I pick up obvious poops daily but that's because I don't like stepping on them. I have a true deep litter run: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/prepping-deep-litter-for-fall.1599199/ so any poops would compost into the mix, but I choose to compost them on the side instead.

Not sure if you're actually going for deep litter or if the pine nuggets are a temporary thing?

I've read that the wood chips (not shavings!) need to be aged, I think at least a year before it can be safe for the chickens.

Aging is recommended yes but you don't have to wait a year. Maybe 6 months to be super safe, or skim chips off the top layer only as those would have lost more of their aromatic qualities and are less likely to have harmful molds due to lots of air exposure.

I do know that things like hay, straw, and leaves can mold easily if they get wet.

If the chickens are kicking it all around and aerating it something like mold shouldn't be an issue. I use a lot of dried leaves in my run and they break down surprisingly fast.

 

[StinkyAcres]

If the chickens are kicking it all around and aerating it something like mold shouldn't be an issue. I use a lot of dried leaves in my run and they break down surprisingly fast.

True. I guess I was thinking of when the leaves, etc., are piled deep and packed down.

 

[rosemarythyme]

True. I guess I was thinking of when the leaves, etc., are piled deep and packed down.

As long as they have aeration and drainage they shouldn't mold. With the new chips I put in I should be able to put leaves 3, 4" deep without issue. I can tell when aeration is lacking as that's when you start seeing sliminess in the leaf litter instead of leaves just breaking down and vanishing.

 

[ChickenLoverTrin]

Around once a month I clean the poop out and put it in my veggie garden as a fertiliser. It works really well, but it still leaves a lot of chicken poop for the rest of the month, so I just lay pellets down after a while.

 

[SamIamNam786]

I pick up obvious poops daily but that's because I don't like stepping on them. I have a true deep litter run: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/prepping-deep-litter-for-fall.1599199/ so any poops would compost into the mix, but I choose to compost them on the side instead.

Not sure if you're actually going for deep litter or if the pine nuggets are a temporary thing?


Aging is recommended yes but you don't have to wait a year. Maybe 6 months to be super safe, or skim chips off the top layer only as those would have lost more of their aromatic qualities and are less likely to have harmful molds due to lots of air exposure.

If the chickens are kicking it all around and aerating it something like mold shouldn't be an issue. I use a lot of dried leaves in my run and they break down surprisingly fast.

So

I pick up obvious poops daily but that's because I don't like stepping on them. I have a true deep litter run: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/prepping-deep-litter-for-fall.1599199/ so any poops would compost into the mix, but I choose to compost them on the side instead.

Not sure if you're actually going for deep litter or if the pine nuggets are a temporary thing?


Aging is recommended yes but you don't have to wait a year. Maybe 6 months to be super safe, or skim chips off the top layer only as those would have lost more of their aromatic qualities and are less likely to have harmful molds due to lots of air exposure.

If the chickens are kicking it all around and aerating it something like mold shouldn't be an issue. I use a lot of dried leaves in my run and they break down surprisingly fast.

I would love to create a compost type situation if it helps prevent cleaning often. So far it's been ok, granted it's been only 1.5 months. I added pine bark from home depot, without aging it, the last time we had a lot of rain, mainly to prevent smell and muddy spots. It worked well! But since then, we have tripled the size of our run and I notice muddy spots also (no smell though yet, maybe bc they have more area to poop in and it's higher, allowing more ventilation?) anyways, do you think adding the pellets over the few bags of nuggets is an ok idea?
Again, I do have a full bag of shavings too, would that be equally as absorbant?

In either case of using shavings or pellets, if I continue to turn it, and add some more pellets, top soil, grass clippings, every couple of months, would it work to create a compost pile? Then I can clear it out like you did after a couple of years and start all over again?

 

[SamIamNam786]

Sorry, not sure how I replied and added your response twice.... Didn't mean to say "so"

 

[SamIamNam786]

Around once a month I clean the poop out and put it in my veggie garden as a fertiliser. It works really well, but it still leaves a lot of chicken poop for the rest of the month, so I just lay pellets down after a while.

How is the poop still in tack after a month? Don't they get squished into the earth? . Or does your pellets absorb and leave dry poop pieces? My coop has hemp, and no moisture. So I can sift out or pick up dry poop from it every few days.

 

[ChickenLoverTrin]

How is the poop still in tack after a month? Don't they get squished into the earth? . Or does your pellets absorb and leave dry poop pieces? My coop has hemp, and no moisture. So I can sift out or pick up dry poop from it every few days.

Nah, usually they scratch it around, and it gets squished in, but some of it is still there!
So I take it that hemp works well for you?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I added pine bark from home depot, without aging it, the last time we had a lot of rain, mainly to prevent smell and muddy spots. It worked well! But since then, we have tripled the size of our run and I notice muddy spots also (no smell though yet, maybe bc they have more area to poop in and it's higher, allowing more ventilation?) anyways, do you think adding the pellets over the few bags of nuggets is an ok idea?
Again, I do have a full bag of shavings too, would that be equally as absorbant?

In either case of using shavings or pellets, if I continue to turn it, and add some more pellets, top soil, grass clippings, every couple of months, would it work to create a compost pile? Then I can clear it out like you did after a couple of years and start all over again?

How is the drainage at the run location?

I've never tried the pellets so I don't know how well they would work. Hopefully someone who has tried them in a similar set up can explain.

I personally don't like shavings as I find they just absorb water vs wood chips/chunks that let water flow through, maintain some structure to provide a drier surface, and aeration to the layers underneath.

The reason I do like dried leaves and grass is they break down readily and provide carbon to help compost along with the poop (which is nitrogen heavy). Plus it saves me money because it's free litter that otherwise I'd have to pay to be removed as yard waste.