WWYD: Winter run decision.

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

You are in NH and I imagine LOTS of fallen leaves to gather. I am in CT and for the winter i use straw and dried leaves. I bag up about 12 big bags late fall and thats still not enough, but its better than nothing. Yea, dried leaves for the win. It helps with winter weather and provides many many hours of enrichment. Throw some treats in, they love it. <3 Good luck winter is almost here!

 

[ChickenChick46]

For the life of me, I cannot source this in New Hampshire. It makes no sense, seeing as we have a Dunkin Donuts every 1/2 mile. Someone bag these grounds, please!

Right? I've never seen this locally, anywhere. And I drink coffee, but not THAT much coffee...

 

[BoundlessLove]

Hay or wood shavings

 

[TheCluckandStrut]

For the life of me, I cannot source this in New Hampshire. It makes no sense, seeing as we have a Dunkin Donuts every 1/2 mile. Someone bag these grounds, please!

I left a link in my reply above. Recycled coffee grounds

 

[thecatumbrella]

I left a link in my reply above. Recycled coffee grounds

Unfortunately, I would have to get on a plane to procure it.

 

[TheCluckandStrut]

Unfortunately, I would have to get on a plane to procure it.

You must be in California. Lol
Do a search. There's got to be somebody in California that sells used coffee grounds, or somebody that can ship wherever you are.

 

[kattabelly]

I use coffee grounds as a mushroom growing substrate and to add to compost and I've never paid for them Just leave a container in a coffee shop and they fill it up for me.

 

[Seaslug]

I scoop poops out more-or-less daily and then I just dump the whole thing when it is more sawdust than pellets. Probably about once a week

Also, and I am not advocating this particularly if you are pregnant or immunocompromised, but I compost the used cat litter.

We also use compressed pine pellets for cat litter boxes here, and they are great. Three cats, only 2 boxes (conventional wisdom says we should have 4 boxes) cleaned weekly. There is some tracking of sawdust, but I will live, given the lack of dust and the almost complete lack of smell.
I would like to compost but our area is very wet with streams and springs and I do not want to be complicit in more toxoplasmosis getting into our oceans -- I know it is doing a number on ocean mammals.

Regarding run substrates, we also use tree mulch (removing large sticks -- in our area it could be anything but oak, tulip, and maple make up most of the forest trees) and fallen leaves mixed occasionally with pulled grass weeds, horse pellets when everything is really wet, and a bit of hay. When things are really wet it usually means that it is time to dig out the decomposed mulch and put in a new layer. As I mentioned, it is sort of wet here, and I can dig out decomposed mulch two or three times a year. My chickens also spend most of their time in their run.