Oh my no don't cover that grass, they will have it gone in a matter of days lol! They are going to be joyously happy scratching in the dirt!! After the grass is gone you might want something down. Straw in a run gets muddy and slimy and breeds bacteria. Some people like sand. Myself, I like woodchips. Not the same thing as pine shavings you might use inside their coop. I get piles of it delivered free from local tree services. Wood chips absorb water keeping it dry unless you're situated in a flooding spot. Even in rain the birds walk without squishing through mud. They break down slowly and compost along with chicken poo. In the fall I gather a bit of the ground leaving the remaining chips in the run and it goes on my garden bed. By spring my garden is already fed. I toss fresh chips in the run and done. My chickens are my fertilizer factory.Ah yes! Brick houses and grey skies - Definitely indicative of England!!
Does anyone know if the chickens need anything like straw on the grass in the bottom? Or is the grass and soil ok? I'd clean them out every day when they were on the hard surface - Would they still need daily maintenance on the grass?
Thanks again everyone
