Rock salt in chicken run?

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i have no experience with this; however, i would say no. i've heard lots of warnings about not feeding chickens table scraps that have salt on them because too much salt can hurt them.

since my chickens spend all day scratching and eating bits of the ground, they would definitely be consuming a lot of salt. not good.

also, i would think it could potentially be really not good for their feet.

do what the europeans do: no salt, just sand.
 
I would expect rock salt to burn their feet.

I live in Iowa and get tons of ice and snow. I do not do anything to melt ice in the run. I do cover part of the run in the winter to keep the snow out, because my chickens like to have access to dirt all year.
 
Wouldn't it be better to physically remove the snow instead of melting it?

Because melting snow means there will be a wet floor, that's not really good for chicken's health, and it would be messier than snow.
Perhaps, after a cold night the water might get frozen and become slippery for them to walk?

I'd use just water to melt the snow if I have to, with a garden hose. I wouldn't use salt.
 
Considering they'll eat anything and everything, I'm pretty sure they'd try to eat the rock salt. Would you eat it? Whenever I think of whether I ought to feed something to them, I ask myself it I would eat it. (Then again, they actually like kale...) Too much salt is NOT good for them.

I would shovel or cover at least part of your run in winter. My girls don't much like going out in the snow, so this year, I'm planning to lay a bunch of hay on top of whatever snow I can't remove so they can still get some exercise - and get away from each other.
 
We've never moved or melted the snow for the chickens, they cope just fine.
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