Run flooring?

[mckeecoop]

New chicken owner here, what would you guys recommend doing for the flooring on an chicken run? What I mean is, should I keep it just on grass (which I'm guessing wouldn't last long), or use sand, or a combination of a bunch of stuff etc.? Thank you for your input!

 

[perchie.girl]

New chicken owner here, what would you guys recommend doing for the flooring on an chicken run? What I mean is, should I keep it just on grass (which I'm guessing wouldn't last long), or use sand, or a combination of a bunch of stuff etc.? Thank you for your input!

first of all Welcome to BYC

from San Diego.

Lots of people use sand its good for climates that get a lot of rain... they put a border around the base so the sand doesnt drift out.... Easy to clean with a rake...

Another thing good for humid climates is Rice hulls.... If you can get a hold of them they are excellent bedding the birds love them too and you can compost them in the garden.

But they are sometimes hard to find. There is a distributer here in California because we have a major rice producer in the Sacremento area. My horse LOVES rice hulls the chickens love to pick through them and pick out the left over rice bits. They can get a hard rain on them and within hours the top surface will be almost dry to the touch.

I use Plain old Decomposed Granite.... dont have dirt or sand....

deb

 

[aart]

New chicken owner here, what would you guys recommend doing for the flooring on an chicken run? What I mean is, should I keep it just on grass (which I'm guessing wouldn't last long), or use sand, or a combination of a bunch of stuff etc.? Thank you for your input!

Combo of dry plant matter is best in the long run.

Here's a great description of contents and how to manage organic 'bedding' in a run or coop...and there's a great video of what it looks like.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1037998/muddy-run-help-please#post_16017992