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Thank you for your great response. I guess I will dedicate a corner with some border with some sand, high enough so they won't be able to spill it out. But the rest of the run I will do as you and the rest of you wonderful fold suggested.Adding sod will be a waste of money - the chickens will tear it up pretty quickly. I wouldn't personally add misters, because moist chicken poop stinks more. The shade will be enough.
I built a run extension this year and it started out as grass....then was bare dirt after a few weeks of chicken activity. Now I toss in wood chips, leaves, old straw bales - pretty much anything organic that's going to give the chickens something to pick through all day looking for goodies. When I see it's starting to break down, add more material and scoop out some of the decomposed stuff to add to the compost pile
The chickens will likely just dirt bath wherever on bare ground. If you want a dedicated sand area, I'd say contain it somehow or it will get spread out
Thank you so much. I will certainly keep all this in mind.Don't bother with sod or trying to grow grass back in there. The chickens will just destroy it.
I would add a thick layer of dry organic matter for run litter. Whatever is available to you. I like wood chips because I can get them for free.
You can set up misters if your chickens seem overheated. Deep shade on damp ground with a floor fan also works well. As does offering a shallow plastic pan with a large ice block to melt that the chickens sip from and wade in.
The bagged stuff at HD is usually much finer than the tree trimmers chips I get.Thank you so much for your answer. Now, regarding woodchips. If I buy the ones, let's say at Home Depot. Do I have to be afraid there might be some chemicals in them added which might hurt the chicken? Or is this something not to worry about. So far with all the suggestions, I think I will use wood chips.
The bagged stuff at HD is usually much finer than the tree trimmers chips I get.
...and most will be dyed.
As are the piles at the landscape places.Most bagged mulches nowadays are dyed
As are the piles at the landscape places.
I suppose places can be different, but the two landscape places I checked,Really? Meh. My landscape place carries stuff that looks like it was salvaged out of someone's yard (and probably was lol).