Concrete floor in *run*

Ok, my New Plan is to put the coop (a converted shed) just under the overhang of my barn, and enclose the walkway along the side of the barn as the run. This will be easy because I'm not using this space right now, and I figure it will be super easy to just attach some wire to the existing posts (there is kind of a half-wall that separates the large barn area from the walkway). This will give me a run of approximately 8 or 9 by 20 feet (more or less). It is a very sheltered area - run-in shed on the west side of the run, barn to the north side, and another barn on the east side. So sheltered on three sides, only open to the south.

The only catch is that it's mostly a concrete floor, except for about 12 feet at one end, which is dirt. Are there any major problems with having concrete in the run? I can put bedding or dirt or something down if needed. Is it needed? And if so does it need to be 100% covered?

I did a search but only found threads related to concrete flooring in the coop itself.

The chickens will be allowed out to free range when we are home on weekends, or after work in the evenings. So limited time out on actual dirt. We may also build a small tractor to bring them closer to the house on occasion.

Thoughts on the concrete?

 

Hi Chris,

Heat is really the least of my worries up here -- the most we get is a day or two of 85-86F and those are really few and far between. I was thinking on the really hot days I could sweep back the dirt/bedding on part of the run to expose the concrete for them to lie on. It's also almost completely open into the barn, just a half-wall which is more of a fence-type thing than a wall - so lots of ventilation.

Is there a particular type of sand that would be best for this application? I may be looking at hauling in some sand this spring anyways, for horse-related uses.

 

I was also thinking I might get christmas tree mulch -- it's given away free every spring in my city. There shouldn't be any problems with that, right? Free is good.