My run is a muddy mess! Can I regrow grass or put down straw or pine chips?

[Pqchicken]

I'm fairly new to chicken husbandry. My 7 girls have eaten/dug up all the grass in their pen. When it rains it turns into a muddy mess. I read that regrowing grass is nearly impossible. Can I spread straw, hay, pine shavings or anything else?

 

[aart]

I highly recommend coarse wood chippings from a tree trimmer.
Best if you have a place to store a huge pile they can dump.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you?

Climate matters and some thing are only locally available -- such as the pine straw that I love in my run (only available in the US southeast).

The coarse wood chips @aart recommended are often considered the gold standard for mud control but you might also need to address drainage problems.

It looks like there is a slope right next to your coop/run and at least one other structure nearby?

If the water runs off other buildings or down a slope into/through your coop/run you'll need to put up gutters to direct water away, dig diversion ditches, and/or put in French drain or grass swales -- whatever is necessary to get water to flow around the coop/run instead of into/through it.

If the coop/run is located in a low area where water collects your best option is to move the chickens to higher ground. Alternately, you can add fill to build up the level of the ground so that it's no longer a low spot, but this is best done by a professional (who is worth his weight in gold for solving serious drainage issues with intelligent re-grading).

If it's just heavy rain causing an intermittent problem then you need to add plenty of dry organic material such as those wood chips and might consider roofing all or part of your run.

 

[perkolator]

On that chain link run I’d probably install some 24”x1/2” hardware cloth along the bottom perimeter and add a lot of wood chips. The HC will help contain the chips from spilling out and will keep from predators being able to reach in at chicken-height for a snack. The only way I can think of to preserve grass is to rotate sections or to use a frame over the ground so they can’t scratch up the roots