Is gravel too bad for their feet?

[chikadee15]

Hi, all! I have beed trying to find out if the gravel that's on part of my run will hurt my chickens feet overtime. My coop area is 1/3 sand, 1/3 cement and 1/3 gravel (it was already there and it's great for drainage. I keep wondering if on the long run the gravel will end up hurting their feet or if they will e fine since they are not on it the whole time. Anyone has gravel in their run?

Cheers!

 

[black_cat]

Gravel is ok for their feet but it is really ideal to have dirt or mulch for them to scratch in.

 

[hayley3]

Hi, all! I have beed trying to find out if the gravel that's on part of my run will hurt my chickens feet overtime. My coop area is 1/3 sand, 1/3 cement and 1/3 gravel (it was already there and it's great for drainage. I keep wondering if on the long run the gravel will end up hurting their feet or if they will e fine since they are not on it the whole time. Anyone has gravel in their run?

Cheers!

Gravel can aggravate or cause tears on the pads of the toes and could result in bumblefoot.

 

[RoosterML]

Watch for bumblefoot with gravel and rocks.

 

[CluckerFamily]

When my flock free ranges they walk on my gravel driveway. They don't spend all day on it, but they will walk around on it to get to the three parts of the yard. They will also eat the littler pieces for their grit outside of the grit provided in their run.

 

[3KillerBs]

Gravel can be a problem, especially if it's sharp-edged rather than smooth, round river gravel. You probably should cover it with organic bedding -- wood chips, wood shavings, straw, leaves, etc.

 

[aart]

Hi, all! I have beed trying to find out if the gravel that's on part of my run will hurt my chickens feet overtime. My coop area is 1/3 sand, 1/3 cement and 1/3 gravel (it was already there and it's great for drainage. I keep wondering if on the long run the gravel will end up hurting their feet or if they will e fine since they are not on it the whole time. Anyone has gravel in their run?

Cheers!

Gravel not good for a run...not only the possibility of foot injuries that might become infected(bumblefoot), but it will become saturated with poop and reek.

Some pics of your run might help us understand....and how many bird you have......and.....

Welcome to BYC! @chikadee15
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Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[chikadee15]

Thank you, @aart, good call! Just added my location

Ugh I may have to end up changing the ground cover on that part of my run. It sort of was already there... what do you all think of round gravel? Like river stones?

As for the reek, I do hose it all down and, after it dries, sprinkle some zeolite which helps keep things dry and flies at bay, so it's not so bad. I'll add a picture here soon.

 

[aart]

As for the reek, I do hose it all down

But where does that poopy water go?
If it doesn't all drain well away from the run,
eventually the spaces between any type of rocks or gravel will become saturated with poops.

 

[chikadee15]

You have a very good point there. I guess while the soil underneath the gravel will absorb the liquidy stuff, the more solid particles build up. Thank you for the great insights!