Need advice on run bedding...

[LindseyC]

There are far too many critters for me to feel comfortable free ranging so we have a large 8x8 coop we are in the process of building and are planning to have a T shaped run. Our soil is pretty sandy.. well, mostly sandy as we live close to the river. We are planning to use 16 gauge, vinyl coated, 1/4 inch wire cloth all around, on top and on the bottom with more sand on top. This morning I was looking through threads on coop design and read that sand can be really stinky after about a year if you live in a humid climate, which I do. Hello, Oklahoma. Anyway, I'm needing advice on if this would be a wise choice because what I'm reading seems to be conflicting. Some swear by it and others are warning against it. I just don't want to set myself up for a super stinky mess from lack of planning. I welcome any and all input because I want to do it right the first time so I don't end up having to redesign after putting my fluff butts out.

 

[ToniTalley]

I use mostly sand in our run, and it's going on 4 years now. I do add a flake of straw every winter so the chooks have something to tear up, and wood shavings fall into it from the coop. Every spring (when it finally warms up) I'll rake out the old straw and whatever poop and chips I can, and add more sand. So far it hasn't been too stinky even in mid-summer. This year I plan on tossing in some soft long pine needles to see how they work. The run is in an area that drains well, so the sand dries out pretty quickly. By the way, our run is covered with a roof and the sides are all hardware cloth.

 

[LindseyC]

I'm trying to talk the hubs into agreeing to cover the run. So far, I've only gotten him to agree to cover some of it.

 

[ToniTalley]

Since my coop and run were built all together, they share the roof. I do wish I had more of an overhang on all sides to help keep out rain. In winter we put up plastic corrugated roof panels on the sides so that keeps the wind and snow out of the run.

 

[LindseyC]

Operation "convince the husband we need to cover the run" was a success. @BrockC