Options for a dirt run

[Organic Gal]

Hi,
My chickens currently have a 24 ft dirt run(they killed all the grass) but mostly they are free range. I want to put something down in the run. I have put in dried leaves which works fine. The run is covered by a roof however because of the slight slope down to the run/coop at least 12 ft can get wet when it rains. The other part stays pretty dry. Any suggestions?

 

[CluckerFamily]

I built my run on top of concrete blocks to protect the wood frame, this allowed me to fill in the run throughout the years with dirt, sand, sod, etc. and it stays dry.
Would you be able to put cinder blocks or concrete blocks on the outside border of your run to prevent small floods?

 

[21hens-incharge]

Is it 24 square foot or 24 foot by unknown number?

 

[DobieLover]

Hi,
My chickens currently have a 24 ft dirt run(they killed all the grass) but mostly they are free range. I want to put something down in the run. I have put in dried leaves which works fine. The run is covered by a roof however because of the slight slope down to the run/coop at least 12 ft can get wet when it rains. The other part stays pretty dry. Any suggestions?

You can build a swale to divert the runoff where it is coming in.
I use a thick layer of wood chips. I get them by the truck load for free at the local highway department. I don't remove anything, just add more wood chips as they slowly compost with the poop.

 

[Organic Gal]

I built my run on top of concrete blocks to protect the wood frame, this allowed me to fill in the run throughout the years with dirt, sand, sod, etc. and it stays dry.
Would you be able to put cinder blocks or concrete blocks on the outside border of your run to prevent small floods?

I have 8X16 inch pavers around the outside however it still gets wet from the slope of the yard. I use to have a lake form in one corner before I had the roof put on but it still gets wet just not soaking wet. I thought about using wood chips but I have only seen shredded mulch at Home Depot and usually its dyed mulch which I won't use since it maybe toxic.

 

[Organic Gal]

Is it 24 square foot or 24 foot by unknown number?

Sorry about that. The run is 24ft long and 8 ft wide

 

[Organic Gal]

I built my run on top of concrete blocks to protect the wood frame, this allowed me to fill in the run throughout the years with dirt, sand, sod, etc. and it stays dry.
Would you be able to put cinder blocks or concrete blocks on the outside border of your run to prevent small floods?

I have 2in pavers 8X16 around the outside. I think it gets wet from the ground outside getting soaking wet. This only occurs with alot of rain and not the entire run gets wet. I think if I put several inches of something then the top of it would be dry. I didn't want mold though

 

[21hens-incharge]

Pictures showing the slope may help.

I am wondering if a french drain would work to divert the water.....

 

[yakitori]

I'm a fan of pelletized horse bedding as a base, then throwing whatever else you want on top, mulch, shavings leaves etc. a nice deep bed of this helps to keep things from being muddy. having a slope also means your water wouldn't pool, so I think some organic bedding should be sufficient. My run gets wet when it rains as well, but I hardly even notice as the mulch means instant drainage, and the top layer dries after a day.

 

[NatJ]

I have put in dried leaves which works fine.

Some possible options:
dry leaves
wood chips
wood shavings
whatever you clean out of the coop
hay or straw
Weeds, grass clippings, vegetable/fruit peels, almost anything you might put in a compost pile

A mixture is often better than any one single thing, so feel free to throw in a variety of things as you have it available.

I think wood chips, leaves, and shavings often work best because they're easy for the chickens to scratch up and re-arrange.

For hay or straw, some people like to put the whole bale in for the chickens to sit on, while others cut the strings and let the chickens spread it around.