HELP! Coop Run Material

[trumpeting_angel]

I can’t wait till I can let mine outside. I want to be sure they will come when I call , and I have to fence off the garden whee there is too much poisonous foxglove growing.

 

[Della Ronco]

I can’t wait till I can let mine outside. I want to be sure they will come when I call , and I have to fence off the garden whee there is too much poisonous foxglove growing.

They are so cute. I got mine at 24hrs old at Blue Seal Feed in Maine. They grow fast and trust me they will come when they know you. Hold up the bag of food and they will follow you. Also they automatically go in their house at dusk.

 

[aart]

I never replied back and thanked you both for your input! I went with rocks, then sand, then soil. It worked really well! For a while... fast forward from 2015 til now and our girls dug up all the soil and were scratching in the rocks and damaging their feet.

A couple weeks ago, we remedied the problem by digging out and removing the existing material to a 6-8 inch depth. We got the idea from another thread on backyard chickens to use mulch and create a natural organic matter run and we love it!

Thanks again!

Great update @azellmer thanks! ...why rocks are not good substrate. Curious what size 'rocks' you used?
Wonder how many will notice this update post tho.

 

[azellmer]

Great update @azellmer thanks! ...why rocks are not good substrate. Curious what size 'rocks' you used?
Wonder how many will notice this update post tho.

We used rocks we found for free on craigslist, large 1-2" river rocks that we buried deep to increase drainage. They weren't super effective and they just caused huge problems later.

We were intrigued by the deep mulch/composting run - sort of like a deep litter method in the coop. It makes perfect sense! It will break down and create an organic material substrate and it should attract bugs (and treats for the girls) and we're really hopeful that it is the long-term solution we were looking for!

Thanks for the feedback