Ground Cover Under Coop and in Run?

[goldtopper]

My coop is an A frame, run iclusive and 12' long. The housing itself is 6', elevated 2' off the groud., so the run itself is the full 12', with half of that being under the coop.
It is 10 feet from a mature oak. The soil is a mix of dirt and grass. It will get wet with rain, but not soaked due to the oak's big canopy.
I plan on doing deep litter in the coop, but would like suggestions for the run base. They'll free range when I'm home- I have a huge fenced yard, so they will spend only a few hours a day in the run.
I am thinking sand as I'm afraid of the poo's ability to harm my oak if not cleaned quickly.
Any help gratefully accepted!

 

[farmer_lew]

Sand would be great. Easy to clean up poo. Make it as deep as you can. Since they will free range most of the time, you should be ok using 3 - 6 inch deep for the sand. But, I don't think the poo will harm the oak, though. Chicken poo makes great fertilizer.

 

[doublebow]

I have my chicken coops under a group of post oaks. It has provided great protection form the elements and from the nasty hawk that lives here. The poo hasn't harmed the trees in any way but I did read that changing the level of soil can harm certain oak trees as they are very sensitive to a change in the grade around their roots. By the way, I have deep litter in the coops and change it out a few times a year otherwise I just add more litter. (wood shavings and oak leaves)