Do I need bedding in my run?

[raleonard]

I have a 10x14 roofed and enclosed run with a 5x4 raised coop for my 5 chickens. The coop floor is covered with stray, maybe 3-4 inches and i clean the poop daily. Is this ok? My run was grass until I added the chickens until i added the chickens. Now it is dirt and stray they have dragged down from the coop. Does the run need some time of ground cover? Can I rake it up occasionally and just leave it hard dirt?

Thanks for your help. I sure do enjoy my 5 girls. It was 6 for the first 3 days but I hadn't buttoned the run tight enough and a critter got one.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I like straw in the run and pine shavings in the coop. If the ground is covered, you an remove and swap out the straw from time to time which will remove much of the feces. It helps to cushion the soil. Compacted soil is one of the reasons nothing will grow in there.


They have to be buttoned up at night. Many of us have made the same mistake.

 

[BruceAZ]

i use pine shavings in the coop and half of the run

the other half i left it bare earth

 

[ChickenMammX4]

We do Deep Litter in our run; grass clippings, straw, hay, leaves, pine needles and landscape/garden debris. Just keep adding throughout the year. Gives the chickens something to pick through, keeps odor down and flies at bay. Then in the spring we rake all that beautiful compost out and till it into the garden.

I never need to clean up poo since it drops through the litter and decomposes.

 

[BruceAZ]

deep litter method is only ideal during the winter or in colder states

when it's in the triple digits.. you do not want your chickens walking on deep litter bedding.. they will die from heat stroke

it's like walking/lying on some hot floor while outside in 100+ degree heat