Does the run need to be super neat?

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FarmingCityGirl

FarmingCityGirl

In the Brooder
6 Years
Mar 21, 2013
50
0
39
Michigan
We're deciding where to put our coop & run. We'd like to put it in an area of the yard that previously had pieces of broken glass. We've cleaned it all up, but there are gazillions of rocks, pebbles, and small pieces of broken concrete and twigs & stuff...is this okay? Will they eat the rocks? There are also some type of prickly bushes in there...maybe roses or raspberries? Those will be easy to pull out if they're a problem.
 
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Tiny pieces of shattered glass could be a problem, and that is almost impossible to clean up completely despite your best efforts. Rocks, pebbles and even concrete shouldn't pose a risk. Chickens naturally eat small rocks which are beneficial to digestion. The small rocks provide grit in their crop which breaks up food. Twigs are no problem and the bush is not a risk if it is not poisonous.
 
I'm not sure how I feel about the broken glass. I don’t know if it will get ground up in their gizzard and pass on through or if it might cut them up inside. I’d be nervous about that.

Not the least bit nervous about rock or bits of concrete. The concrete will get ground up and pass on through their system. The rocks will be used as grit. The twigs won’t be a problem either. If they eat then at all, they will just be ground up in their gizzard and digested.

I don’t know what those bushes are. Usually they won’t eat anything like that which will hurt them. You can try pulling them out, but don’t be surprised if they come back from the roots.
 
I am also am concerned about the glass. Chickens can see the smallest things that we cant see. They could see the sun shine on them and they would try to eat it and could cause a big problem.
 
CluckAcres said:
I am also am concerned about the glass. Chickens can see the smallest things that we cant see. They could see the sun shine on them and they would try to eat it and could cause a big problem.
Click to expand...
The glass did not appear to have broken out there. There were shards of it, along with other crap, littering that area and we cleaned it up. But I never found a scattering of tiny bits of glass like it was broken out there. We've lived here about a year, and I keep going out there and haven't found glass in a while. I also want to rototill the spot before we put it out there, but now I'm worried the ground is too frozen/compacted/rocky & will screw up this crappy rototiller I have. Maybe I should get one of those giant manual dirt stirrer upper things...
 
An alternative to a rototilling could be putting down a layer of sand. It seems that what most people complain about in their run is mud because of poor drainage. That is why sand or pea sized gravel is recommended so often for chicken runs.
 

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