Outdoor chicken run queation

[MrsAllen]

Hello, in my outdoor run do I need to put shavings down on the grass?

 

[MrsAllen]

 

[KaylorFarms]

We never put anything down in our pen with our chickens.You don't have to put anything down.

 

[Yaychicks]

No, but we'll throw in the gardening weeds, leaves, etc in there, and shovel out the loose top dirt now and again for low spots in the yard and such.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

That grass won't be there for long so when it rains you'll have a mud pit. Our run is covered with a solid roof but we put down straw, hay, grass clippings, leaves, pine needles and landscape debris. The hens love to eat the weeds and search for bugs & worms. It also keeps the run from getting muddy & smelly.

 

[donrae]

Agree with the above. If you don't do something, you'll have bare dirt, and with rain you'll have mud. Muddy chickens aren't much fun

Most folks use some form of litter or bedding. Pretty much anything organic based is fair game around here. I do use wood shavings and/or straw for a base in my smaller pens, like yours. I add compost, some horse manure for them to scratch through, weeds, kitchen scraps, leaves in the fall are great, grass clippings if you spread them out so they don't heat up and mold, etc. These things also give the birds something to scratch around in during the day, giving them something to do. Makes an environment for bugs to flourish also.

 

[MrsAllen]

Thank you so much these are great ideas. I had planned on having a movable coop but it is to heavy to move about now we have finished the build. I will put the grass bag on my mower and catch the clippings to sprinkle in the run.

 

[donrae]

Ours go nuts for the grass clippings from the mower.