Pea Gravel

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stoner0208

stoner0208

In the Brooder
Apr 7, 2015
12
6
24
LONDON
Hi all
I'm new to chicken keeping and need some advice I have 8 hens and at the moment in their run its just mud well it was grass ha ha but i was thinking about putting some pea gravel down in there
Only half of the run has a roof so the bit that's not covered gets a bit water logged when we have heavy rain
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
frow.gif


Pea gravel might be a bit hard on the chickens feet, legs and pads. When they scratch through this gravel, it could tear up their pads or give them bumblefoot. I have never used it as a covering. You might try sand in your run. Sand stays fairly dry when wet, it reples flies, absorbs smells and works really well if you hose it down in the summer time to keep the birds cool. Cool feet mean cool birds!

Here is a thread on using sand if you would like more information on it....https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/444759/got-sand-you-should

You can also ask around in our Coop and Run Construction forums for more help with a wet run....https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/9/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance

Good luck! Make yourself at home here and feel free to ask around the forums with any questions you may have. welcome to our flock!
 
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided join our flock. A fine, smooth pea gravel will work well. I've used it many times over the years in the floors of my runs. Or as TwoCrows has suggested, you could use a coarse river sand. Do not use fine beach sand however as it has been known to impact crops (especially those of chicks). Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your hens.
 
HI all

I was thinking pea gravel because the hens are digging big holes in the ground and filling with pea gravel would be an easy way to fill the holes and also when it does rain keep their feet out of contact with the wet and mud their run is on a slope also I thought that cleaning the poop would be easy pick up what I can and the hose down
I don't no what do all you Back Yard Chicken people think ?????
we have suppose to have a sunny weekend and would like to get out in the garden with the girls

And I only put a roof over half the run because I didn't want to block out all their direct sunlight
not that we get a lot of sunshine in the uk ha ha
 
stoner0208 said:
HI all

I was thinking pea gravel because the hens are digging big holes in the ground and filling with pea gravel would be an easy way to fill the holes and also when it does rain keep their feet out of contact with the wet and mud their run is on a slope also I thought that cleaning the poop would be easy pick up what I can and the hose down
I don't no what do all you Back Yard Chicken people think ?????
we have suppose to have a sunny weekend and would like to get out in the garden with the girls

And I only put a roof over half the run because I didn't want to block out all their direct sunlight
not that we get a lot of sunshine in the uk ha ha
Click to expand...

Fine pea gravel is pretty easy to hose down. That's one of the things I like about it.
 

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