Chicken pen flooring?

[addylars]

We have 300 sq. ft. of pen space that is mud and dirt. We want to put a substrate of lymestone or something for easy maintenance. Would crushed concrete be ok, or should we use the lymestone? Any other suggestions?

 

[rrgrassi]

Limestone breaksdown to white dirt pretty quickly, if it is small, like on a limestone road. I would use crushed concrete.

 

[teach1rusl]

I guess it depends on how crushed it is.... Chickens can get bumblefoot from walking around on really rough/sharp surfaces. So if crushed concrete is jagged and sharp, I wouldn't do it. But if not, then I suppose it would be as good as anything else. Is sand high in your area? You could get a few tons of sand if not...many love the ease of cleaning w/sand.

 

[patandchickens]

Sand or roadbase are usually the cheapest and most effective. You don't want any kind of sharp-edged gravel -- make sure you see/feel the stuff before having a load delivered.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[addylars]

Thank you all for the replies. We were looking at what is called diamond dust used on baseball fields or what is called 23A wich is a little bigger lymestone. The crushed gravel would be very fine as well. Sand, I like the idea of easy maintenance for sure and that is what were trying for. Any concerns with that washing away more than the others? We have wooden structure at the bottom of the pen to prevent that, but we have a lot of wind out here. Looking for something that will be heavy enough to stay put, but be safe for our birds. I will definately see it before I buy it. Thanks again, Larry (Lars) Hanson

Oh I was also concerned with what they would put into their gizzards, and what would be the best for them. Thanks again.

 

[nancy1zak]

Sand is nice. We have a dirt run. But, they have a 20 x 20 dustbath that we fill with playsand. All around the dust bath they have kicked out sand and it is nice to rake up the poop in that area. I have contemplated putting a layer of sand down periodically throughout the entire run.