Ground cover for run

[aart]

My runs have semi-deep litter, never clean anything out, just add smaller dry materials on occasion, add larger wood chippings as needed.
Aged ramial wood chippings are the best base IMO.
Works great here in an uncovered run with decent drainage.

 

[flygirl1973]

The best way to keep the run dry is to cover it. Just organic material and dirt and the chicks will keep it well stirred. Very little labor to maintain. Their poo will breakdown and create a nice compost.

Sounds easy enough and I have lots on hand!

My runs have semi-deep litter, never clean anything out, just add smaller dry materials on occasion, add larger wood chippings as needed.
Aged ramial wood chippings are the best base IMO.
Works great here in an uncovered run with decent drainage.

I just looked that stuff up. I have LOTS here on my farm so it should be very easy to obtain. We're still cleaning up from the slight flooding we had. Lots of sticks and leaves piled together. May need a bigger wheel barrow though....that in addition to my fresh pine shavings should be good right? They have a roof but mostly open to the elements in the run.

 

[aart]

I just looked that stuff up. I have LOTS here on my farm so it should be very easy to obtain. We're still cleaning up from the slight flooding we had. Lots of sticks and leaves piled together. May need a bigger wheel barrow though....that in addition to my fresh pine shavings should be good right?

So lucky!!...I need to get some delivered.
I wouldn't even bother with the pine shavings in the run, save those for inside the coop.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I live in the Tacoma-Seattle area of WA! We are in the finishing stages of our run and I’m not 100% sure of what to put on the floor. Right now it is just dirt.

I'm not familiar with all the dealing of DL. We live in the forest in Oregon and get a ton of rain. To me that seems like the makings of some brutal wet soggy litter. I'm a complete newbie and thought you need to try to keep the run dry as not to harbor disease.

Moisture is fine in DL... the idea is to have it drain through, not just sit there.

First you want to make sure your site has good drainage, if there's drainage issues, you want to address those before piling on the litter.

The best base material IMO is chunky, aged wood chips. Wood chips are pretty easy to source in many parts of the PNW so they're cost effective and provide good drainage. Add in dried leaves, grass clippings, garden trimmings, pine needles, etc... only thing I avoid adding too much of is pine shavings, as those really do get soggy but don't provide the same drainage as chips do.

My run litter after a night of heavy rain... outside the run there were noticeable puddles in the grassy area. Inside the run, it looks pretty dry, doesn't it?

 

[maenfayne]

Moisture is fine in DL... the idea is to have it drain through, not just sit there.

First you want to make sure your site has good drainage, if there's drainage issues, you want to address those before piling on the litter.

The best base material IMO is chunky, aged wood chips. Wood chips are pretty easy to source in many parts of the PNW so they're cost effective and provide good drainage. Add in dried leaves, grass clippings, garden trimmings, pine needles, etc... only thing I avoid adding too much of is pine shavings, as those really do get soggy but don't provide the same drainage as chips do.

My run litter after a night of heavy rain... outside the run there were noticeable puddles in the grassy area. Inside the run, it looks pretty dry, doesn't it?
View attachment 1731146

Is your run covered? We're hoping to partially cover ours, leaving some uncovered with just netting to keep out predators.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Is your run covered? We're hoping to partially cover ours, leaving some uncovered with just netting to keep out predators.

My run has netting for birds of prey. We don't have any roofing over it - would've been nice to give the birds some cover, but if the rain is really bad they just go into the coop.

 

[MROO]

Can you use the flake pine shavings from TSC for a base? I was going to mix them with some straw for the base and then add yard waste from there. The run is covered. My first chicks will be ready to move out there in about a week.

If your chicks are still little, I'd nix the straw for a bit. It's hard for little ones to navigate. Pine shavings work okay. I use them in my coop, then shovel the dirty stuff out into the bigger run to compost. Last year, I added some double shredded hardwood mulch that came from a friend's downed trees (no chemicals.) It composted almost TOO nicely! I'll have to dig some of it out this year to add some more pine needles and leaves.

 

[ZooAtHome]

I've noticed a couple of people here recommend "aged" wood chips for the run. We live in the woods and have lots of branches that fall over the winter. We chip them up in the spring and use the wood mulch to cover paths and such. Works great so far. I was planning to use these wood chips in the run and coop as well.

My question is: If the branches have been down awhile and I chip them up, is that considered aged? Or do I have to chip them and then wait a bit before adding them to the coop? The latter would require storing them somewhere, either in a container or a pile. Given our climate, I suspect that would cause them to mold and mildew so I was hoping I could put the chips right into the run, where raking and chicken scratching would turn them regularly.

Chips would be maple, alder and pine. I know not to use cedar chips with animals. I prefer this to buying wood chips, because 1) they are free and need to go somewhere and 2) I know for a fact that they aren't treated or contaminated with anything.

 

[MROO]

I've noticed a couple of people here recommend "aged" wood chips for the run. We live in the woods and have lots of branches that fall over the winter. We chip them up in the spring and use the wood mulch to cover paths and such. Works great so far. I was planning to use these wood chips in the run and coop as well.

My question is: If the branches have been down awhile and I chip them up, is that considered aged? Or do I have to chip them and then wait a bit before adding them to the coop? The latter would require storing them somewhere, either in a container or a pile. Given our climate, I suspect that would cause them to mold and mildew so I was hoping I could put the chips right into the run, where raking and chicken scratching would turn them regularly.

Chips would be maple, alder and pine. I know not to use cedar chips with animals. I prefer this to buying wood chips, because 1) they are free and need to go somewhere and 2) I know for a fact that they aren't treated or contaminated with anything.

Chip 'em & spread 'em. They're already seasoned. As a bonus, they're likely to have little goodies in them that your biddies will enjoy.
One word of warning, though. Beware of anything that may have termites or poison ivy in or on them. Termites, well, don't trust your chickens to get every one of the eggs. And poison ivy? I learned - the hard way - that even dead, dried poison ivy vines have enough oil in them to make you very, VERY itchy!

 

[ZooAtHome]

Thanks for the input! We don't have any poison ivy on the property, thank goodness. We do have stinging nettle, but it isn't a problem after it dries.