hello pete, when it comes to adding wood chips to my chicken run, i just tip it all out into a big heap on the floor. i find that the chickens will scratch and kick all the chips around looking for bugs and it is leveled off in a few hours, this saves me a job and gives the hens hours of entertainment. regards from England.
I’m in Central Texas. I use pine bark mulch in my runs. They turn it every day so the poop goes down. I get bags and just dump it and they spread it. I also have all 5 runs covered with tarps which keeps the runs pretty dry. If you run bedding is higher than the ground next to it, it will stay dry.
For everyone saying he just needs a roof.. that will only work if he puts up walls on the outside also. Rain does not fall perfectly straight down. It will absolutely come in from the sides. I have mine “roofed” and it’s like putting a bandaid on a bullet wound.
I love your setup. It is awesome. I love my chickens like you do & I have a run like yours. My chickens are my babies. They get up on my lap when I go out there. I spend a lot of time with my chickens. You are doing a great job. They look happy.
What a great idea! The woman from Chickenlandia also mixes in the pine pellets which are very absorbent & break down. They smell great, too! (I use them in my Breeze cat litter box & it’s a fabulous way to go!) Anyway, all this just to mention that I’ve also collected fallen pine needles & small branches to use in the run-they smell great and are nutritious snack for “the girls.” Thanks for sharing!
not to be rude but they're chickens...as long as it's not raining constantly for ever it will dry up and they will be fine. i have raised chickens for years in a 50 x 50 pen. sometimes it's muddy sometimes it's not. your run is great, its cleaner than some peoples houses. a chicken wont die from muddy feet...lol
take your cross support board off and put it on with the bottom in the back corner (hinge side), and the top (at the opening side) of the door. That will keep the door from sagging & binding in it's opening.
That's a nice chicken coop and run there. But, I think I'd build a run with a roof. That would probably help keeping the area more dry. It would also provide some more shade in the mid day, which the birds would love in summer. Also, I'd put a board or something all along the bottom of the run wall so the chickens can't kick too much of the bedding out. Maybe a board or some scraps from metal roofing, or anything, about 12 to 18 inches tall. The birds look happy and healthy, though.
Not sure if you care but I learned this myself. Your support crossbeam should go to the opposite corners of your gate. It would help with the drag and help keep it level I promise.
THANKS PETE I’m new to our part of TX and this fall 2021 will be a complete 4 seasons I have quail working out great in hutches I realllly want chickens too and thought I would only have meat chickens next spring and summer - you just showed me WHAT I CAN DO to have my egg layers THANKS FOR SHARING
@@petebeasttexashomesteading I had chickens many years ago so much fun , I"m getting some quail soon , My best chicken was nosy rosiey she had to be with me at all times .
Great problem solving, Pete. I LOVE the idea of wood chips as litter. I think I'll put down a base of wood chips and top it off with a layer of leaves! 👍👍👍
I can’t find wood chips where I live in NE Mississippi, I’m almost out of leaves, the chicken run stays so wet in the winter and spring. Still looking for options….
I would so love to have a place in the country where I could have chickens. I live barely in the city limits and can't have chicken. I've got a place picked out in the mountains as soon as I get the money.
Thanks for sharing this great tip. I live in Woodstock GA on an acre with 8 chickens. Living the dream! Always working on keeping the chickens safe, healthy and happy.
You and be both. I can have chickens but deal so often with a nasty neighbor and power tripping and uneducated, duplicitous authority which said neighbor constantly call.
Most cities allow them now. We live in a suburban type neighborhood and they are allowing people to have a couple chickens. I didn’t want a rooster because of the crowing but having two or 3 chickens won’t even be noticeable.
Hey Pete, im from Silsbee area. My son gave me a small Chicken coop w run. It had been out in weather, of course. We almost messed it up moving it. As i thought about the situation, i decidedto take P.T. 2 x 6 and put under it. Wow, coops up higher, screwed down coop to this. Higher and stronger. Just wanted to mention. This might be an agreeable idea for you. Take bottom of coop up off the ground. I painted my bottom most board before putting it down.
I have half my run covered in a tarp it’s lasted 3 years so far. I’m in sandy Florida so no mud. I’m afraid of wood chips because of bumble foot but wood chips mixed with chicken manure makes wonderful compost. Looking good
Hi Pete, good video! I have a much smaller run for my 6 chicken but have the same problem. I used sand to absorb some of the excess water. Of course I didn't have a pile of sand to take it from. I bought some construction sand (6 baags). Keep the videos coming!
You should rebuild your door making it shorter in height and putting a board at the bottom of the run across the door way that doesn’t move where your door will but up against the bottom board. You’ll have to step over the board whenever you go into the run. But you won’t have the problem with your door getting stuck on the ground any more! Btw, I thought I had a lot of water on my field at times, but you certainly got me beat! LOL
Hi Pete! We will be getting our chickens in about 3 weeks (they will be 16 weeks old). We built a chicken coop similar to yours...but with the nesting boxes on the platform and a slanted roof (with gutter). But I can't thank you enough for all the chicken video's. We've never raised chickens, but have neighbors that do. LOL But, with your video's and 2 books we've bought, I feel we'll be ready. Thank you for letting us learn with you.
Hi Pete on the big gate you have attached the diagonal timber the wrong way that is why the gate has sagged remove and put it the opposite way so the bottom is at the hing side. Get someone to help you lift the left side while you screw the timber. That should fix it.
I've been getting a few comments like this telling me that the diagonal brace is wrong. Actually it works better this way. The diagonal brace is pulling the door from falling down. It's the same design that is used in cable bridges. Just think of the diagonal brace and the hinge side as a right triangle.
The door large enough to move the wagon into the run for clean up and to put in bedding is a great idea, thinking I might have to borrow that one...first time viewer, new subscriber...
Problem with corrugated plastic roof is where we live. I'm in north Louisiana with the exact same climate as this guy and our summers are brutal. Even with all the sides open, the corrugated plastic is actually made for a greenhouse so it's designed to let all the sun and heat in it can, so it tends to make everything under it twenty degrees hotter. Which isn't good when it's already 110° outside with no breeze and 99% humidity. A light colored tin would be better, still a bit warmer than normal but it does better to reflect the sun and heat that the other.
I’ve read that some farmers use pea gravel or some other small pebbles in their run. Rocks don’t decompose as fast! LOL But then again long as you don’t mind scraping it out every so often and adding the chips to your garden you can’t go wrong that way either!
Scatter the chips over your grass area and overtime the soil will repair itself and will not crack up in the summer and drain better in the winter,like the soil in a forest
We use the wood pellets that are designed to be used in a pellet stove. They absorb a ton of water and work in dry pens just as well to line the coop with clean flooring. When it is applied to dry dirt, we just spray it lightly with water to dampen it just a bit and soften it up. It makes the coop smell fresh as well.
@Miss Jen 🐾 End DayZ R Now! No straw. The pellets dissolve into fine sawdust and lots of it. They soak up any moisture available. We add a small amount of sprayed water to help start the breakdown process. Once you try it, you will get a feel for how to go about it. It leaves the coop smelling fresh and clean for a very long time. We have a small flock, live in a relatively dry climate for the most part. We usually lay down the pellets every three months.
I could just imagine How kind you are doing many things your property doing just for yourself well You keep your chicken You will be blessed. Abd someday you will Have plenty things organic eggs Why not hire somebody to help you You are very brave doing everything you are kind man God bless you
I use chips here in central MD a lot. If the mud gets deep, it sucks your boots off! I still sometimes sink even w the chips, but my boots stay on and much cleaner.
Keeping the run dry is very important for having healthy chickens. They need dry areas for walking in, keeping feathers dry (since they are not like other birds), and dry areas to dust bathe to keep mites away.
When clearing our land of fallen branches and limbs, I use a tarp and pull it from place to place as I'm collecting the tree branches. It would also work for the wood chips. Just load up the tarp and pull it over to where you want it. Just a thought, belated. 🤪
Hi Pete, question why do you not put a roof on the coop to keep the rain out? The woodchip is a brilliant idea and it will be good for your garden, but a roof would stop the birds from getting wet.
I thought about putting a roof on but it would make it dark and gloomy 😞 I just need to stay on top of it and keep the run bedding higher then the ground level.
Just FYI, the roof might work. From personal experience on 2 acres where my chickens ran loose, they stayed out in the rain. Why? No idea. They had a lot of trees and large low hanging bushes, their 'bed or roost' an old shell of a trailer parked on a slab of concrete that was weather sealed (the doors wide open) and the open back porch. Did they use any of this? No. They'd rather all pile up under a small portable fire pit that had a hole in the middle for the ashes, which during rain, was as good as a running hose. During intense lightening storms, I'd invariably lose one to a lightening strike. Nothing really more dreary looking than a sopping wet chicken. Their choice. Good luck.
Yeah, W/o is chips are great, worms love it too, protein for the girls and you can replace it putting the old wood chips on the garden with extra fertiliser.
Adding deep bed of my live oak leaves has helped mine. I'm waiting on a load of wood chips, but they say don't use cedar chips. Those are bad for chickens.
Pete, with all of your resources why don't you install polycarbonate roofing panels on top your run? You would save yourself all of this trouble, effort and work.
I enjoyed it. We just bought a bunch of chickens in August and September. We are trying to determine the run/coop areas We are currently using a dog kennel (10x10) with tarps around and a roof of tarp but want to do something better. I love your run. It must have cost a fortune for that hardware wire and those posts. We bought a couple rolls of hardware wire at Tractor Supply and it is very expensive for like 10 foot rolls.
How about make the floor inside the coop higher than outside, then water will drain to the outside permanently. Then you could dig French drain around the coop to lead water away. This is how houses are built, always higher than street level, so rain water will drain to the street.
🙋🏼♀️🕊. This is a tough one 🥴🍀. How about 🧐🧐putting some pallets in ther then some wood chips ?? Good luck 🍀👍 may your 🐓🐓chickens stay healthy 🍀🕊🍀🕊🍀🕊. You have sure been hammered. With bad weather down south! I have been following it .be safe🍀🕊🍀🕊
You needed a bout a 4 inch gravel base with landscaping fabric over the top and then topsoil or dirt then woodchips so it would drain properly. It’s time to let your chickens out they will stay close and Will go back to the chicken coop to roost every evening just open the gate in the morning and close the gate at night. Just a suggestion
@@petebeasttexashomesteading Chickens are pretty smart when it comes to hawks. They will stay in tree cover during the day and RUN back and forth to the coop for water/food. The rooster does a good job of keeping an eye on the sky. Mine free range and I haven't lost one yet and we have a lot of hawks here too.
I really like your run design Just one thing on the woodchips and compost in a run like that you should be able to produce quite a bit of compost, those woodchips look like they're already breaking down
What if you build up the ground inside coop a couple inches to let water run away from the run instead of sitting stagnate. Also, what about a sandier bottom layer to allow more drainage. And as others mentioned, of course chickens thrive with the opportunity to access fresh air, sun and shade, but perhaps you could tarp or inexpensively use corrugated plastic sheeting on the first 1/3 of the run if it means they may be more comfortable outside of roost on rainy days. I also love the movable or temporary runs some ppl build that allow you to move flock around a little to different spots on the lawn periodically to allow the ground to recuperate a little and to give the chickens fresh greenery and bugs. Your set up is good/fine but generally any animal standing in wetness for long periods will develop problems. Thank you!
Yep good ideas, I'm building a chicken tractor now. So when I move them I'll probably take a out a few inches of the composted wood chips in their run for the garden, and raise the run floor with dirt and add wood chips again.
A better solution in my view would be to raise the structure away from the ground by putting it on two layers of breeze blocks. This would of course require you to put boards for a floor too.. Then, as others have suggested, put a roof on the coop to keep out the rain. Good luck with it all.
I am often thankful our lot is on a slope...No standing water, ever here in Raleigh, NC.. I'm from Charleston SC.. called the low country...so I'm familiar with wet boggy ground, glad I got out of that situation..
U need to make a roof on my opinion because its just going to get wet again 😅 I know it would look gloomy but use the see thro ones like for a green house or something!
Using a Honda Pioneer ATV with a Cargo Max aluminum trailer with a tilt bed would be much more efficient and cause less damage to your site when moving wood chips, manure, gravel etc.
I started using a product call sweet ptz from tractor supply. Its just under 10.00 for a 25lbs bag. Its meant for horse stalls. I use it in and out of my muddy run. It controls moisture. Odor. And flies. Then i put would chips or hay on top. Cedar chips are nice too. I know chickens arnt suppose to use cedar but my run is so open its never hurt them. No tics
My plan is to keep putting wood chips, leaf much and hay on the chicken run floor and hopefully by fall I'll put all that composted material in my garden beds.
My poor chickens are going through the same thing and all of our vehicles are broke down. Im looking for a big enough bag that I can get delivered to my address. Also something I can use in the compost afterwards.
Pete being in Texas, do you have issues with ants, especially fire ants when using the wood chips? I am in GA, anytime I try something down ants take over and I have some silkies newly added to my flock. I am trying to keep their feet as dry as possible but their coop is on dirt because nothing so far hasn’t turned into an ant mound. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated. I don’t have a roof on my run just shade fabric to d filter light and keep predators out. Thanks in advance
Pine shavings is really bad for chickens mine has been getting respiratory infections so I haven't put anything in there yet but it's nasty right now with the rain and I shread paper for there house
ever think of putting tarp on the top of the run? I would rather keep the run dry to avoid having to add stuff like that, it can harbor mold and mildew not good forthe chickens or you breathing all that in. but it was better than leaving the yucky mud
Great job! We are in the U.K. to prepare for the winter months we use our chipper to make small sized hardwood chippings that get laid around October, and with regular raking and the occasional hose down, the run stays really clean and it lasts right through to April/ May with no issues at all. Happy chickens!, they enjoy scratching around in it. All the bugs and worms still come up from the soil too. And I do put a poly roof on the run too. 9ft by 18 ft is a bit of work but so worth it. Good luck, hope this wet season is kinder to you! Ps. LOVE the swing perches, definitely going to make some of those.
Why did you choose to leave the roof with a mesh roof rather than a solid roof? I’m planning to build a run and I’m waffling between the two. I’m in NW SC so we get a hot July and August and there’s also trees over the the area, so I’m not sure if shade and cleanliness is more important than sun exposure.
I built the coop and run to be in the shade during the mid day. It'll protect them from the harsh summer sun. I thought with a solid roof, it might be too dark and gloomy for them.
