Broken slabs in run. What are they for?

[Norb]

Hello

We've recently moved to a new house and inherited a chicken coop with a sizeable run. We plan to rescue some battery hens in a few weeks once we have settled in.

We were intrigued by an area to the side of the run which it is possible to close off from the rest of the run and has broken slabs across the floor.

We thought this might be for insects to accumulate so that the chickens could forage for them but weren't sure. Does anyone have any better ideas as to why they chose this particular terrain?

 

[mexicanchickens]

Maybe so they don't get poo on the floor???? The poles look like they're for roosting.

 

[Norb]

Well they have a coop with a roost in the main area of the run. You can tell that this is where the chickens used to sleep before. You can see, on the left of the shot, the little walkway/bridge that goes up to it.

I get the feeling this is almost like a recreation area of the run.

 

[arkwelded]

Looks more like a prison then a rec area. I would remove the tile and fill it in with good soil some ash and some sand

 

[Sutremaine]

Maybe you could use larger tiles which stay drier underneath. We have some old crazy paving slabs that get stacked up and shifted around whenever we need that particular space, and they're normally thick with spiders. Their final resting place will be in the run, where their eventual spider population will be not so much for the chickens as for control of the pesky things spiders eat.

 

[thomasboyle]

I am guessing they put the tiles down to cut down on the mud.

 

[Mahlzeit]

I agree with thomasboyle it is probably to keep the area from getting muddy when it rains.

 

[aart]

*I* think someone just tossed a bunch of junk in there.

Looks like a chicken foot cutting environment to me.

 

[donrae]

*I* think someone just tossed a bunch of junk in there.

Looks like a chicken foot cutting environment to me.

This.

I have pieces of plywood and rubber stall matts in my run to encourage bugs, I flip them over every few weeks. Not really possible with all that junk. If you want mud control, install drainage and use wood chips or straw.

 

[Beekissed]

I too think it was someone's misguided idea to prevent a muddy run. I'd clean all that out and start a deep litter system in there~not deep bedding...that's completely different~and utilize it effectively.