Coop run help

[IowaCHKN]

Hello. I recently built a 6x16 coop and run. The run is the full 6x12 the hen house is off the ground. I live in iow and winters are cold. Below 0 at times with obvious snow. I'm planning on wrapping with plastic. But my main question is run flooring. Obviously I need to cover the dirt and keep it dry and not as cold. I'm not sold on sand because it will be colder. I've thought about hemp or pine pellets. I've heard bad things about straw and haw. Bacteria and mold. Anyhow. Looking for advise what others have done and what might be the best option. Thanks

 

[TooCheep]

Simple and free solution: dry fall leaves. Collect a bunch of bags of leaves in the fall. Throw the leaves on the ground: 6"+ if you have good containment around the sides to hold the leaves in (deep litter), 2-3" if you don't have great containment to keep the leaves in. Periodically add some more leaves if you have a bare area or when the leaves break down.

What this does:

• Chickens have fun scratching around looking for bugs, feed bits, etc.
• The leaves minimize mud and poo on the chickens.
• The carbon-rich leaves minimize the poo smell naturally.
• The action of chickens scratching and breaking down leaves, mixing it with poo and adding some water allows the mixture to break down over time into the richest organic compost you could wish for. I only clean my run twice/year and move the compost to my garden and under some bushes that I want to fertilize.

 

[IowaCHKN]

Thanks. What about winter months

 

[TooCheep]

Thanks. What about winter months

Use the leaves all year long. Much better than bare soil- cleaner, easier on their feet and saves you from sending leaves to the landfill and instead creates a valuable end-product.

When I talk about creating compost, understand that deep litter is simply an accelerated version of what happens in the forest naturally. In forests, leaves fall on the ground all around the trees, animals leave deposits and weather, worms, bugs, animals, microbial life (fungus/bacteria/etc), etc. break down the leaves and create organic topsoil naturally. The forest doesn't smell bad, the animals don't worry about walking on the leaves and the organic soil naturally builds up over time, supporting the entire ecosystem.

Search for "deep litter" here or on YouTube and you'll see lots of others explaining this technique and it's benefits.