Straw? Hay? Wood Chips? On run floor...

[Chickylet]

Hello,

We've moved the ladies outside, and they are enjoying it. I like watching them get braver and braver each day. We let them free range and at first they stayed very close to their coop/run but are exploring further each day. Sweet to watch. Question though, the covered run is really just dirt. Can't be much fun walking around in there on days we don't let them out. So we're thinking of putting a layer of something down on that to give them something to scratch at and just feel a bit cleaner then plain old hard packed dirt. For some reason I'm thinking I read somewhere that straw and hay are not good for chickens. Respiratory reason maybe, can't remember if I'm even remembering this correctly. Do you guys use anything in the run area? When they free range they get out in the yard which is fenced in and green and grassy. But when I'm not around and out there I keep them in their run for safety. Curious of your thoughts regarding the flooring in the run.
Thanks,

 

[HappyClucker7]

I mixed some sand and pebbles into the ground inside the coop. My chickens really seemed to love it.

 

[lazy gardener]

Do a thread search for deep litter, and you will turn up a lot. IMO, a chicken run should not be bare soil. It should either be covered with vegetation, or covered with deep litter. My goal is to have a 6" deep layer in my run. It's made up of: hay, spent coop litter, leaves, garden debris, AGED wood chips, grass clippings. Over time, with the chickens adding their nitrogen bombs and scratching through it, it produces a nice black, rich compost. Their poo melts into the DL. There is no odor. Chickens raised on deep litter have improved feed conversion, decreased illness, and improved viability. The DL attracts beneficial micro and macro organisms, and helps manage the copious amounts of N and P that poison the soil in a bare soil run.

 

[blackdog043]

Here's a good video on deep litter.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/muddy-run-help-please.1037998/#post-16017992

 

[aart]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/another-dlm-thread.1245796/#post-19987649

 

[ronott1]

I line coarse pine shaving in the coop

 

[ByrdFeathers]

I do a mix I will use wood chips one time, then wood shavings, then maybe hay or pine straw in no particular order just thin layers on top of each other. Then as said above with what they add and them scratching it makes great compost

 

[MyChickenShack]

I use the course pine shavings in coop floor and straw in nesting boxes. Mine free range, so I don't have a run, but they do like the pine shavings in the coop. I have a friend/co-worker who recommended straw for my nesting boxes because her experience was that her hens did not like hay, but I think all of that preference, not that it was harmful. I have read that cedar chips are a NO because of respiratory issues.