Chicken run ground cover ideas?

[Chullicken]

We didn't add any sand at all. We started with the mulch first. I had read too many people saying the sand caused a real smelly mess and I sure didn't want that. When we put our chickens in their run initially it was grass, but you know that didn't last long. When all the grass was gone we started with the layering as I described. I'm very happy with it.

Been using sand exclusively in the warm months for a few years now. Yes Virginia, it can get smelly. It gets smelly (I'm guilty of it) due in part to neglect. Keep it raked daily or several times a week to remove fecal matter and debris. Simple turning it to help it air dry is very effective.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I started adding material to my run in the fall for the first time. Put in all the edible flowers & garden plants, some straw from the garden & leaves, although I didn't have many, as they all blow out of my yard. Never could keep up with it, it always melted down too fast. They did enjoy it, but the last few weeks when I had to shovel small amounts of snow, the layer of stuff just peeled off in clumps. I will continue to add. but I will need a lot of stuff for my 325 foot run.

 

[lazy gardener]

Yes, it's difficult to keep enough material in a DL run. I have 500 s.f. But, I look at it this way: I have a lot of lawn. Yes, I could simply mulch the grass clippings back into the lawn. But, I consider them too valuable to do that with. They go into the run, into the garden, into the sheet composting area, into one of two coops. Never enough grass clippings to meet my needs! And, since we've been doing that, the weed invasion to the lawn is somewhat decreased. Then, there's the garden debris: it could be composted in the garden, or in a separate pile... but it serves an even better purpose in the run: the birds eat what they want. (I purposefully let some of the veggie plants go to seed) Then they turn it into compost which is of a higher quality than it would be if composted without the chicken input. Leaves: pain to go collecting them. But, they are free, and better for my land than pine shavings. So, most of the input to the DL run is material that I would need to be handling, and putting somewhere anyways!

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you find that you're chronically running low on materials like dried leaves and grass, you can either stockpile when the opportunity arises (I still have 8 bags of leaves from fall, which should last me until next fall) or ask around the neighborhood - I'm sure most my neighbors would be thrilled if I offered to take bags of leaves off their hands since those usually get left on the curb.

 

[Cindy in PA]

If you find that you're chronically running low on materials like dried leaves and grass, you can either stockpile when the opportunity arises (I still have 8 bags of leaves from fall, which should last me until next fall) or ask around the neighborhood - I'm sure most my neighbors would be thrilled if I offered to take bags of leaves off their hands since those usually get left on the curb.

Great idea, but have only a few neighbors. My BIL's leaves blow back in the fence rows, like mine do. The McMansions behind me use their obnoxious leaf blowers to blow their leaves back to the wood line of my FIL's woods. I could rake some in the woods if my Forester son doesn't find out (not allowed to disturb the forest, LOL). I will finally insist on a bagging push mower next year after several years without one to clean up extra grass in the summer. We mow our 2 acres with a riding mower & rarely have to rake anything. Spent 34 years not raking anything & like it that way!

 

[Folly's place]

I don't rake the leaves either! Or the grass clippings; my soil needs all the organic matter it can get.
Mary

 

[Boonie Stomper]

Hmmm, you want the mud fixed in your run?
Why is it so muddy?
Planting trees, scattering pea gravel here and there, as well as some sand can really help. Vegetation is huge, it decreases erosion.

Perhaps is just beginner's luck but my hens have not damage the patch of established zoyzia grass; they have run ofthe whole fenced back yard which includes several terrains. An ancient buried gravel area they love dust bathing in provides grit. Perimeter bushes provide cover and they weed beneath them. No grass grows under the fruit trees but that is a great place for scraps which they and the bugs love until the bugs are eaten*. Mushrooms grow here too as a side hobby and worms too. And then there is a veggie garden... Fortunately early training to keep the birds out of seedbeds has been successful. Basically, give the treats where you allow plant devastation and pop fertilization. Plant things in other areas and herd birds away from those until they avoid them. This is only temporary and you can alter areas and training accordingly.
Be sure to give/allow them a designated mud area though....
* = in spring plan to encourage black soldier flies to lay for a grub production endeavor

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't rake the leaves either! Or the grass clippings; my soil needs all the organic matter it can get.
Mary

I only rake when I need leaves/grass for the run (and most of that is off gravel), otherwise it just stays where it falls. I don't fertilize the lawn so that's all the nutrients the lawn gets.

 

[chrisbohman]

The run I have for my 5 girls is approximately 600 sq ft (20'x30'). It is a fenced off area on the side of my house, bounded by my neighbors fence, the fence around my backyard, my house and the 4' snow fence I added as a temporary 4th wall of the run area. There is a 30+ year old cherry tree about 10' from my house and both of my border fences.

I have raked the area a couple times since May when the birds were moved to the run. All I have collected is some cherry leaves that have fallen as well as, all of the grass tufts the birds have scratched loose, as well as a bunch of chicken droppings. At this point, aside from a couple of areas the girls have scratched out dirt bath wells, one neat the house where there was only dirt to start, there is grass in the areas not under the tree, and under the tree is both grass as well as 2 low height ground cover.

In the run I have a coop where the girls sleep and for inclement weather. The roost area is 9 sq ft, and there are 2 nesting areas, each ~ 3 sq ft. The floor of the roost area, which I scoop daily is covered with mostly sand blended with diatomaceous earth and a coop-refreshing granule. In the one nesting area there is one nesting pad as well as one area with water, and another with food. The 2nd nesting area has one area with a nesting pad, and the other 2 areas are a blend of primarily a hemp shaving atop diatomaceous earth.

Moving forward I may try planting a cover crop of some type in the area not shaded by the tree. I was thinking of trying clover, marigolds, calendula, strawberries, oregano, lavender, mint and/ or basil. Knowing that I will have to block off the area where I plant all of these, except the clover until the plants are fully established. Additionally, I may try to connect with a local tree service to get some wood shavings for areas where the ground got waterlogged after it rains.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome @chrisbohman!
It's best to open a new thread with your post, as this thread ended several years ago. Also, add pictures of your coop/ run as it is, and your approximate location. Climate matters.
Mary