Thinking about giving up my chickens unless....

[Lua]

... I find some way to keep them clean.

I admit I am a bad chicken carer. I detest cleaning their poo. I thought it was going to be like cats and cat litter. But at the moment the whole garden is covered in large and unpickable poos (especially the steps to our back door). Their run is a complete disaster. We clean, and put wood chips down. Looks great for 3 days and soon becomes a muddy poo sea :(
It is a short run (as opposed to a walk-in one) so it needs to be disassembled to clean the floor. It really is not possible to do it every week.

Then, there is the problem that we are running space of composting. It seems terrible to put in a black bin and send to the landfill.

Sorry for the moaning. I do love the girls, they are great but if I can't find a solution I am going to have to give them up. How do you guys manage? Have anyone tried sand? Any suggestions very greatly received!

[pinkmagic1]

I don't have chickens any more, but used to use a layer of straw in their run which I just shovled out weekly. They completely wrecked my garden though and took it from grass to bare earth in a matter of weeks!

[Lua]

Thanks pink. yes. I thought the solution was to let them free range to spread the trouble but the grass has suffered.I don't mind,I figured I can regrow it at some point, but has not improved the problem in the coop much...

[Lua]

Anyone else have any suggestions?

[Imbroglio]

I occasionally put some easichick on the floor of the run so that they can scratch about, and I sometimes tip out spent soil from containers. I also have lots of logs and platforms that they perch on and which are easily hosed down. I keep the run covered so that it doesn't get soggy. I have quite a large run and not many hens which probably helps.

[TableMirror]

My chickens free range round our small garden, I use Aubiose bedding for their run as it's easier and more absorbent that straw, I use a cat litter scoop to clean it out.

https://www.omlet.co.uk/shop/chickenkeeping/poultryybedding/9198/aubiosebeddingg-_20kg/

[Lua]

Humm, maybe we do have less space then I thought? We have 3 chickens in a 3sq mt are when they are in. We have a hard wire mesh down, covered with wood chips. I keep reading some people can keep the wood chip for months, but ours seem to get disgusting in less than a month.

I should cover the run. That might help.

[Imbroglio]

What coop do you have?

[rizlett]

Dogs eat chicken poo - and chickens eat dog poo.....

[RicottaPancakes]

Covering the run will make a huge difference

[Herechickychicky]

You have to dissemble the whole thing to clean it? That sounds spectacularly badly designed.
Is a different one an option?
Can you divide your garden up so they semi free range without trashing all of it?

[Lua]

my coop looks a bit like this. But we have an extra 1.5 m run (about knees height at the end). So yes, we can lift it very easily, and we can't enter into it to clean it. To shovel the wood chips we to get the house and the run apart, lift it, shovel the muck and start again.... a royal pain!!

I am seriously considering putting sand down.Perhaps will keep the whole thing dryer and then I can scoop the poos? is it a mad idea?

[Lua]

meant can't lift very easily....

[RicottaPancakes]

Sand isn't great. it'll be very difficult to clean the poos up. I'd cover it, but down lots of aubiouse and/or straw (buy a bale from a farm shop type place). Should last you at least a month. Google "deep litter system".

[Lua]

What do you do after the month ends? Pull everything out? doesn'tit get mixed with the soil?

[CoolBag]

Covering makes a huge difference. We just stapled some tarpaulin to it. and some wood chips.

[RicottaPancakes]

Yes pull everything out and use it as mulch on your flowerbeds. You might get away with two months as well. When the soil is dry it will soon become compacted and hard. Another alternative is to cover the run (the soil) with slabs and the aubiouse/straw on top of that. You need a thick layer, a couple of inches (this will become flatter!)

[dontstophelping]

I pick up the poops every day. Then you don't have to change litter/shavings so much.

We have REALLY cold winters so about November I start doing deep litter (not ever taking an litter away just poops) to give them more insulation. Has to be cold to do thy though or it turns in to a stinking, mouldy mess.

[CoolBag]

We have a similar set-up but the run is covered. I put a layer of easychick in the run too. I put some new chips on top every couple of weeks. I scrape off the top layer and compost it about every 2 months. It doesn't smell, it's fairly dry.

In the heat of summer I did sprinkle a bit of ground sanitiser around..... but I'm not sure if it made any difference?

[arousingcheer]

If you're running out of compost space do you know anyone who might want it for their garden or allotment? Do you have a local fb page or similar (like Freecycle)? Someone might be quite keen to take it off your hands (but you'll probably have to shovel/bag it yourself sadly).

[Lua]

coolbag, if you have a similar set-up... do you also have to take the whole thing apart to clean? if not,how do you get all the old stuff out?

I'll definitely cover the run to try to get the whole thing drier. I imagine that would allow me to perhaps sweep whatever floor cover we put down with a broom?

[CoolBag]

I kneel and put a rake through the door. Rake and shovel the top layer off. It's a bit of a faff but I don't do it often. If the run is dry and has some chippings on it, it just seems to self-compost into a layer. I don't know why it isn't horribly stinky, but it isn't!

[lawnofdelray]

You could clean it each week, you choose to make excuses not to.
If you are going to continue to neglect them- safely rehome them.

[Lua]

Thanks coolbag!