Coop and run questions from new chicken owner

[genesis1981]

I've had my first baby chicks for a couple of weeks now (3 black Australorps) and they are doing great. They are still indoors obviously so now we are really trying to perfect their *forever home*. My husband built a great little coop and we are now working on the run and I have two questions for you more experienced folks:
1- I have been told a LOT about what to do with the floor of the run in areas that are prone to heavy rain/mud. I am pretty sure that after they scratch up all the grass we are going to go with wood chips, however I have also read some folks said they put down hardware cloth as the floor of their run but keep it raised a bit so the grass wouldn't get completely taken up with scratching. I read mixed thoughts about whether this is bad for the chickens feet and sadly I don't know anyone that has tried it. Also I don't want to rob the chickens of the full scratching experience! My neighbourhood requires chickens be kept in a run and coop so it's not like I can free range them to enjoy the grass in our yard but I do plan on growing them plenty of fodder. I'd love to hear more peoples opinions on the idea of hardware cloth flooring for the run itself, especially if they have experience with that type of setup.
2- My other question is, what would anyone recommend for us to use to lubricate our chicken bedding drawer in the coop?? We built a drawer to make cleaning easier but its not sliding super easy as my husband didn't want to put it on a slide. He suggested bar soap or surf wax. I am curious if anyone knows if these are safe around chickens (I couldn't find anything about that online) or if anyone has any other safe suggestions.
Thanks y'all!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I agree with you about not robbing them of the whole scratching experience.
In one run, I elevated some 1X2 welded wire fencing on 2X6s, narrow side up. then ran some slats across to support the wire.
I plant it with food plot seeds like clover, alfalfa, forage type turnips, radish, all of which are tender forbs that chickens prefer over grass and much more nutritious than grass. Also in the winter I do a couple plantings of winter peas and in summer (after all danger of frost is past) a couple plantings of buckwheat.
You can leave part of the ground open for scratching and dust bathing.

 

[genesis1981]

Thank you! This is kind of what I had in mind! Though we were going to wire the whole thing to guard against digging predators because our ground is so rocky we can't really dig down for an apron around the run. I was going to give them a bin to dust bathe in and maybe do a piece of plywood over half of it so they had another option aside from just the mesh. Love the fencing idea. So their feet handled that alright?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Thank you! This is kind of what I had in mind! Though we were going to wire the whole thing to guard against digging predators because our ground is so rocky we can't really dig down for an apron around the run. I was going to give them a bin to dust bathe in and maybe do a piece of plywood over half of it so they had another option aside from just the mesh. Love the fencing idea. So their feet handled that alright?

Yes. You want openings big enough that the greenery can grow up through.
The external apron can just lay on the ground covered with soil and planted. Digging predators will dig at the edge of the fence and won't know to back up.

 

[Alaskan]

Everything that chicken canoe said... times 2.

I have used different things in my run to act as a protection for grass or whatever to grow up. Since my run is large, and whatever I use is small (usually just 2 x 3) they are easy to move around and the chickens don't stand on them much.

I haven't noticed any injuries from the frames I have used.

I also agree with the apron... just weigh the edges down with brick or rock.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I personally wouldn't cover an entire run floor with wire, a few patches might be ok (in the case of growing screens) but chickens love to dig and they're going to eventually hurt themselves on the wire. Bumblefoot is just a hassle to deal with. A flat apron works just fine against predators and is usually more cost effective.

 

[genesis1981]

Yes. You want openings big enough that the greenery can grow up through.
The external apron can just lay on the ground covered with soil and planted. Digging predators will dig at the edge of the fence and won't know to back up.

This makes perfect sense, of course! Thank you for sharing these tips!

 

[aart]

Grazing frames:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/grazing-frames.73645/

 

[genesis1981]

Grazing frames:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/grazing-frames.73645/

This is a great help. Particularly since I can now search keywords grazing frames which I wasn't using before! Many thanks!