hens on vacation!

[LittleMoss]

Our hens will be visiting a friend while we are away for about a month. Their house and run will be standing on concrete during this time. Should we put something down on the concrete to make it more hen-friendly? I wondered about buying a roll of turf so that we could cut a section to fit their run? Or should we just put a lot of straw and sawdust in?
Thanks for your help.

 

[IZZYBELLA]

I would not put down synthetic turf, as they shouldn't eat that. I doubt live turf would last long at all on concrete. Does your friend have some compost she would like dug through that she could throw down, or even just some dirt? I would think they would get bored with just concrete and they need a place to dust bathe. (Even just a plastic tub with dirt in it would suffice for the dust bathing.) Definitely at least put down shavings or straw.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I would just do whatever shavings or bedding you currently use in your coop or run, since you know how they'll react to it.

Definitely do not use live sod, I've seen multiple people on these forums say their chickens have become ill or died from something (fertilizers? other chemicals?) in the sod.

 

[LittleMoss]

Thanks for your answers, I'm glad I asked.