Best Run Mulch for Attracting Bugs?

[Microwave Girl]

What kind of mulch/groundcover do you all use in your run? My run is bare earth, (no plants, no bugs) and the girls are very bored. Unfortunately, I can't put in a compost pile, because of rodent problems. I'm trying to find a mulching material to put down that attracts bugs for them to eat, but isn't a complete water soaker. (Pretty damp climate here). Any ideas?

Thanks,

 

[Chickstarrs]

Wood chips would be my suggestion.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

If u have room to put a piece of plywood or similiar material in your run, that will definitely attract bugs too. Bugs arent so stupid (usually) that they stay in plain sight, & a ground covering will give them a place to hide. Even a small tarp works. Crickets especially love to hide under plywood and tarps. The bugs move in over night, then during the day u simply lift the covering , and lots of bugs go scurrying.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Ps. Your question is what inspired my user name. Watching chickens run around stealing bugs from each other.

 

[K0k0shka]

I have a combination of wood chips and whatever yard waste is available each season - mowed grass clippings in the summer, leaves in the fall (I bag and collect them for winter use as well), spent plants from the garden, various raked debris from my yard etc. Basically I dump all my yard waste in the chicken run (just no food). The chickens LOVE scratching through it and always find something to eat, even in winter. They keep it pretty fluffed up, so it doesn't freeze into a sheet of ice the way wet bare ground does. It doesn't get muddy and doesn't smell. I love it! The deeper it is, the better for finding bugs and things. And put some stumps and large logs down. Turn them over every once in a while and there will be bugs and worms underneath. I just rolled a log over yesterday, in March which is still winter up here in the Northeast, and was very surprised to find tiny slugs under it! I also gave the girls a hand with the hoe and loosened up some of the deeper layers, and they were happy to find sprouted grains under there! Presumably from scratch I threw at some point and grains they missed. There's always something fun to find in that kind of bedding. And it looks good, too - looks very natural, like a forest floor. Highly recommend it!

This is what it looks like:

Closer view:

 

[nanajan09]

Thank you, currently I have leaves in ours. But I do not have a door on our little run so its hard to take care of. It was just bare ground when we put the run up.

 

[3KillerBs]

Yes, wood chips, dry leaves, straw, pine straw ....

Dry organic material of every kind both neutralizes the chicken poop and creates a forest floor environment that provides natural forage.

 

[Lisa3315]

If u have room to put a piece of plywood or similiar material in your run, that will definitely attract bugs too. Bugs arent so stupid (usually) that they stay in plain sight, & a ground covering will give them a place to hide. Even a small tarp works. Crickets especially love to hide under plywood and tarps. The bugs move in over night, then during the day u simply lift the covering , and lots of bugs go scurrying.

Such a great, easy, affordable idea! I'll be trying this out in my coop!

 

[mamajos]

Be careful what you wish for, lol. I had larger black ants that found their way into my walls of my old coop, and ate the wood. Didn’t find them till we tore the coop apart. They did not get into the coop interior. (The girls would have loved those for a snack!)
I use wood shavings in my pen, and coop. The only time I had mite problems, was when I added leaves to the pen. The leaves got wet and soggy and before I knew it, the girls had mites. So no more leaves for me. But keeping a log or two in there, and then moving the logs around give the girls opportunity to get what lurks under them.

 

[TropicalBabies]

I also do mulch, leaves, grass clippings, logs, stumps. Turning stumps makes the crew very happy for awhile and helps with the feed bill. .. maybe. I also will dump my compost in a 1/2 drum for them to pick through every so many months. Keeping my composter in the run has it's ups and downs. They don't scream to get at it and run to it every morning to see if they can pick off what ever.
Bad side is it takes up space and in the early stages of composting i would rather not have them picking off whatever lurks for safety reasons.

and used melon snack bags filled with big stuff so they have to work at it- much like horse slow feed bags.

I'll even put smoked meat in my snack bags cuz they can play all day with it.
For my area cardboard will collect bugs, decompose and is free.
Our county subcontracted tree trimmers give away their mulch and a barn may give away it's horse manure. These can be collected in empty feed bags for convenience. I think it ALL helps.

Having the chickens dig through mulch etc is an auto air freshener, my drainage and soil condition has become pretty dreamy and one day will be a fabulous place to plant, plus adding carbon to the earth is not a bad idea at all on many levels. Bored chickens are little humbugs.