chicken run

[Lostchicken]

what is a good base to put down for the chicken run. I was thinking gravel or sand for them to run on. The grass just turns to dirt and then mud when it rains or snows. During the winter it will get down to -30degs and summer will get to 100 degs. Wyoming is generally a dry state but we do have or rainy days.
Thanks for your replies

 

[ChaosMom]

I use deep litter. Bark nuggets, pine straw (dead pine needles), shredded mulch, pine flakes from the coop, dead leaves, grass clippings. The chickens keep it stirred up when they’re messing around inside the run, and it composts down. I did thrown around some PSZ (stall sweetener) after multiple straight days of rain.

I want their run floor to look like a forest floor, more like their native origins. Also, it’s very soft for landings from perches. The green welded wire was protecting a forsythia shrub that has since been moved.

 

[Whaler]

I was just going to ask that very same question.. I have lots of fir needles they are much smaller than pine needles I was wondering if that would work? Also have a plethora of fur cones I was wondering if you could use those they are very small,,,

 

[thecatumbrella]

Is your run covered like ours? We used undyed pine mulch, but it does need to be maintained daily with poop pick ups or it will stink and become unsanitary. It does a great job at keeping the edges from getting flooded. I agree with @ChaosMom that I like to offer them organic material that's more akin to the forest floor. We do have two central sections with sand. One with construction sand + peat moss for dust bathing, and the other with this new "chicken sand" that Amazon's selling, which is great for grit and cleaning feet.