I need all the ground cover options for my run

[SaraRH]

I suggest calling a local arborist and asking them to drop a pile of wood chips in your yard the next time they take down a disease free tree in your area. They are usually happy to do it, as they have to pay to dispose of the chipped wood in a landfill. I’ve done this many times.

 

[sbutler12025]

What is in the run already?

It often works to leave the native soil/plants there, and let the chickens scratch in the soil and kill the plants. Then start adding other material.

Many people have good results by putting in quite a bit of wood chips, and also adding any other compostable materials they have readily available. It ends up sort of like a spread-out compost pile, and the chickens scratch and rearrange it and eat bits. (Can include vegetable & fruit peels, weeds pulled from the garden, shredded junk mail, hay or straw, bedding you clean out of the coop, and many other things-- avoid anything really toxic, but chickens are pretty good at knowing which things are safe to eat when they have a choice, so no need to worry about each tiny bit of stuff.)

In most cases, the lowest layers will slowly decompose while the upper layers stay fairly dry. People sometimes compare it to the floor of the forest: leaves and sticks and other things fall each year, and they pile up from the top while rotting away underneath and never get stinky.

If it is in a low place where water puddles, it may stay wet enough to smell bad. But if you start from ground level and pile things up, it will stay dry enough to be fine in most climates.

I do like that idea! I can't have them on the existing ground, from the previous owners there are insane amounts of glass, screws and the odd plastic shard here and there buried in the soil. I removed about a foot off the top of my entire back yard in that area but even after removing the worst of it I am still finding bits of stuff here and there after it rains. Amazing how far down trash can go!
I am between the method you described above and sand. Whatever I do I have to figure it out asap.

 

[ZedikerStation]

Add a foot of clean fill dirt....then add run bedding.

I like coarse wood chippings in the run.

I like coarse wood chips as well. The hens love them. Only problem I have is they kick about 3 wheel barrows through the mesh every month. I've learned to pile it in the center and let them work it to the outside when I put it back. Doesn't take them long...

 

[CluckerFamily]

Can you attach a picture of your run?
You may be able to just keep it as is if you already have dirt and/or grass.

 

[Justicedog]

We had grass in the run area at the beginning. That lasted about 5 minutes. We've basically just had the ground dirt. I've put in multiple bags of sand, that just gets worked into the dirt. I've thrown in the leaves in the fall. I've covered the run with the wood shavings. It breaks down and gets turned into the dirt. I don't have a covered run, so we do get mud. I have to work on getting a roof on the run and on drainage.

My next thought is to put in some peat moss.

 

[srhalford]

When we built ours, we opted for topsoil and pine shavings. I rarely have to do anything to my run except add shavings every once in a while (run is 8x40). The front section has a tin roof over dirt where they sun bathe, but the rest is open with wire on the top. We intentionally placed our coop/run where the ground gradually slopes for good runoff as well. When we first got our girls, they were in the coop/run all the time, and I never once had any smell issues etc. They keep it consistently turned over. They now free range everyday in a fenced in corral but they still keep the run turned. Different things work for different people, but where you live, climate etc. does play a big part. I attached some pics while we were building - this was in 2019, so I am still a fairly new chicken keeper too.

 

[ZedikerStation]

Another option not mentioned is dried ornamental grass. I have lots of this growing. Every winter it dies. In the spring I cut it down and pile it up in there. It is hilarious watching them climb the pile. Like everything else, it doesn't last forever. It is excellent at keeping them on top of the mud. Picture of it growing and one of what is left in the run. I have a large pile of this that can be added whenever. It does not break down with rain. It is very "woody".

 

[aart]

I like coarse wood chips as well. The hens love them. Only problem I have is they kick about 3 wheel barrows through the mesh every month. I've learned to pile it in the center and let them work it to the outside when I put it back. Doesn't take them long...

I lined my runs with 1/2" HC, 2' high.
Actually did that to keep tiny chicks from escaping, holding the wood chips was a bonus.

 

[3KillerBs]

Only problem I have is they kick about 3 wheel barrows through the mesh every month.

We're planning to put a solid skirt about a foot high at the bottom of the wire on the Chicken Palace. Not sure it it's going to be HardiePlank or metal, but the purpose will be to keep the composting litter off the support structure and inside the wire.

 

[3KillerBs]

I just put in some pea gravel which I love for keeping it clean and the rain goes right through it, but my chickens are getting bumble foot? ugh

Welcome to BYC.

Unfortunately, gravel is not generally recommended for exactly that reason -- and also because the poop eventually builds up down in the gravel layer to create a cement-like mass that reeks when it gets wet.

If you tend to have a lot of rain and are concerned about mud in your run you could try coarse wood chips -- the sort you get from a tree-trimming service.