Floor for chicken run

[JBEN Chickens]

I recently purchased some chicks and I am in the process of constructing a run to attach to the coop. I was planning to line the floor with 4" thick solid cinder blocks to prevent predators from tunneling under the fence and to ease in cleaning the run. However, someone told me that wasn't a good idea because chickens need to dig. I am interested in ideas of how to proceed with the floor of the run.

 

[bryan99705]

If you can cover the run, leave it grass / dirt. That way they can scratch and dust bathe in dry ground. Instead of spending money on blocks that can be dug under by predators, just lay a skirt of wire about 18" wide around the outside of the run with the inside edge attached to the base of the run. It very effective to stop diggers and disappears as the grass grows thru it, you can mow or trim right over it, plus you can move the run if need be without a lot of mess.

Depending on the run's wire opening size, don't forget to line the lower 12 - 18" of the run with hardware cloth to stop coons from reaching thru.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

I am interested in ideas of how to proceed with the floor of the run.

There's no real need to do anything to it.​

 

[JBEN Chickens]

Bryan, thanks for the reply. The information was helpful. One other question: the run will not be covered with a roof (just wire) so is it still OK to have a dirt floor?

 

[dewey]

Mine has a wire floor that's covered with dirt.