Pea Gravel for Run

[jettgirl24]

Well, filled up the truck yesterday and we're about to head out and put it in the run... In the rain of course

We'll see how it works, I should have enough for 4 to 6 inches deep, hopefully that will be enough and we won't need to add sand! I'll be sure to update and let everyone know how it works for us.

 

[kathyinmo]

I absolutely hated pea gravel. After hauling it into a few pens, we raked and scooped and raked some more, to take it all back out. I bought a truck load of it, because the price of sand doubled in a year. I wasted my money, for sure. HATE it! Sand is great, but you do need it to be at least 6 or 8 inches deep, in my opinion.

 

[tlagnhoj]

I absolutely hated pea gravel. After hauling it into a few pens, we raked and scooped and raked some more, to take it all back out. I bought a truck load of it, because the price of sand doubled in a year. I wasted my money, for sure. HATE it! Sand is great, but you do need it to be at least 6 or 8 inches deep, in my opinion.

I'm currently dealing with an absolute mess in my run. I'm researching the options, hence the zombie thread. Your review of pea gravel is limited by the fact that there's no explanation. Though I doubt this is the case, you could have hated it for the looks. What was it about it that made you do all the work to take it up again?

 

[Hunter0704]

This my experience with pea gravel............My run is 12' x 6' with hardware cloth on the ground stapled to the wooden run frame, then landscape cloth over that, then one yard of pea gravel on top. I got the pea gravel because there are no sharp edges on the gravel to cut my chickens or ducks feet and to make it easy for cleaning....I just hose down the areas with poop, which washes under the gravel, onto the landscape cloth, and it flows out of the run. It's sort of a brown color which makes the run look nice and clean. I recently attached two 10' x 10' kennels to the run so the chickens and ducks can have more room to move around in, plus they can scratch and dig all they want out there. I also put in a sand pit placed across a corner of one kennel which they love.

If you are putting gravel of any type on top of dirt, when it rains the dirt is going to turn into mud and the gravel will eventually sink into it. That is one reason I put the hardware cloth on the ground, under the pea gravel, to keep it from sinking. The other reason was to keep predators from digging in. I guess if one puts enough gravel on top of the dirt, most of it will stay there even in hard rains. However, I'm thinking that as time goes on you will probably need to add more gravel as it disappears into the ground.

Good luck with your pea gravel!!! Hope it all works out for you!!!

 

[stoner0208]

"Hello I was planning to lay pea gravel floor in my outside run tomorrow
just thinking that it would be easy to clean and good drainage as only half the run has a roof
any advice please

 

[Sonya9]

"Hello I was planning to lay pea gravel floor in my outside run tomorrow
just thinking that it would be easy to clean and good drainage as only half the run has a roof
any advice please

The birds will have to walk on it. They also like to lay in the dirt to get sun, or give themselves dirt baths.

Take off your shoes and walk around in pea gravel, then sit down on the ground and try to relax in it. See how it feels and then ask yourself how your birds will feel having to live in a big pen of that.

 

[stoner0208]

Quote:

Quote: "that's why I was asking for advice what do you use ???"

 

[Sonya9]

"that's why I was asking for advice what do you use ???"

Mine have a large run of that is grass/dirt. They also have a small covered area that has wood shavings (when I clean the coop I sweep the shavings right out into a covered area of their run).

 

[stoner0208]

Quote:
My run is 11' square half of it is covered but the other half isn't and when it rains heavy like it does in London that half turns into a mud bath and I didn't want to cover the hole run because I wanted them to still get maximum sunshine

 

[Sonya9]

My run is 11' square half of it is covered but the other half isn't and when it rains heavy like it does in London that half turns into a mud bath and I didn't want to cover the hole run because I wanted them to still get maximum sunshine

Can you cover it with clear plastic so the light comes in? You need to try to keep the water out of the run, that includes pouring off the roof of the coop. I would try sand and also try to divert the water as much as possible.