Chicken run and allergy to hay/straw

[Allieharmon]

I have an 8'x16' chicken run that contains a coop and 5 chickens. I need something to put on the dirt since it is much lower now than when we built the run just a few months ago.
I am very allergic to straw and hay and would not be able to breathe with it in the run, much less sit and visit with the chickens. My husband thinks we should use pine straw, but I'm not so sure as we will compost and I've heard that lots of pine straw can be bad for a garden. I'm afraid pine shavings or pine sawdust will stay wet. Any suggestions? I would love to have any advice you can give. Surely I'm not the only chicken owner who is allergic to straw and hay. thanks!
allie- mother to chickie children Gus, Ada, Hazel, Zillah, and Henrietta

 

[Brookliner]

Sand would provide good drainage, be non-allergenic and is a good surface for chicken scratching. I use a combination of sand, PDZ , and DE. The run can be mostly sand with DE and PDZ mixed in on the top layer. Easy to clean. The chickens will love dust bathing in it too.

 

[ailurophile23]

I definitely like sand - I have it in my current coop and love it. Just make sure that it can drain well if the run is not covered - like all bedding/florring materials, if it stays wet constantly, even sand can grow things.