Chicken Run

Uh oh...you double posted. I just use dirt/grass in my run. Because mine free range quite a bit, it stays grassy, not muddy. But the bantam coop I'm building now will have a layer of small gravel with a few inches of sand on top of that (so feathered feet will stay cleaner). My big coop doesn't have a covered run, but my bantam coop will...just metal roofing screwed onto wooden rafters. No pics of my bantam coop posted yet, but my big coop is on my BYC page.

 

I put Pea Gravel down in my run, that seems to keep it dry and their feet clean. I also periodically add a bag of sand to help keep it dry as well as give them some grit. My chickens free range whenever I'm home and that seems to be when they get themselves the dirtiest/muddiest. Somehow they always find a way to get clean again.

 

Sand and fine gravel is good for saving the tootsies. Sometimes I pour an entire bag of granite and spread it. It works for me!