Newbie here - Does Coop Run need something on the Ground?

[marybogue]

We are in the process of constructing this for our four hens -

http://www.thegardencoop.com/ (We are doing the walk in coop)

Do I need to put something down in the run because of their poop and pee? The coop has a roof, and it is a half grass/half dirt run. I have read about what to do for the inside of the actual hen house, but not for the run. THANKS!

 

[happytxchick]

My chickens free-range, so they don't actually have a run; however, I have seen that some people put sand in their runs (absorbant and "cleaner" than regular soil).

 

[kuken]

Let us know how your garden coop turns out. I'm starting mine this weekend. As far as the floor of the run. Mine will start out with some grass but I'm sure that won't last long.

 

[Chickaholic]

Thanks to the nasty weather we have been having mine is turning into mud!!! Come on sun come out so I can fix my run!! I think I am going to try the sand thing, after doing a little research it sounds like the best thing

 

[marybogue]

Quote:
So, if you put sand down - how longs will it last and how do you change it/clean it out?

And, oh - the building of the Garden Coop has been going very smoothly so far. If I get a chance, I'll post some pics. My husband is doing the majority of the work and I can tell you that by his lack of cursing, that this has been a good project!

 

[rebecky1305]

I saw a post on here that talks about putting pea stone in the run then covering with landscape cloth and then putting sand on top of that. The pea stone allows for good drainage, and the landscape cloth keeps the sand from settling into the stones. Then you just rake the sand every once in a while to keep the run clean. This is what I am going to try in mine.

 

[patandchickens]

See my 'fix a muddy run' page (link in .sig below) for discussion of this subject, yes I know your run is not muddy

but the topic is relevant.

(p.s. chickens do not pee -- they excrete nitrogen as those white urate crystals in the poo, not as liquid ammonia the way we do, and they excrete othe water-soluble waste products in the moisture that's in the poo. So you will only be getting poo from them

)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[elmo]

I use a kitty litter scoop and a garden trowel to clean up the droppings in my sand filled run. I rake the sand periodically, and any time it seems to be getting thin, I add another bag of sand. In preparation for the arrival of our new chicks, I did go around with a collander and sift the sand to clean it up more (but I realize how weird this is, and was glad the neighbors couldn't see me).

 

[angels4]

Not so weird...I do the same thing.

I just started using sand in the run this year, so EASY to clean, I've noticed the inside of the coop and nest boxes stay ALOT cleaner.

 

[Chickaholic]

Quote:
If you put sand in the run, where do they get to peck the ground? How does that all work??