Rain.. bedding??

[BlazeJester]

I currently have a dirt-floor 8x8x3 run that my 11wk-old girls spend all their time in (their coop addition is slow progress). We have had several days of steady rain a couple of times now, and the floor of the run is an absolute mess.

I am on a rental property and will need to return this patch of "it wasn't grass anyway" to a green-ish state by the time I move out around August of next year, so I need an option that isn't terribly land-altering (no concrete, etc).

We have several large oak trees on the property that are just starting to lose their leaves, so I'm thinking a good amount of leaves will end up in the run for the late fall and winter. However, I'm at a loss for a bedding material that doesn't have to be cleaned out every time it rains (the "roof" is a 8x2 panel of corrugated PVC that covers half the roost and the food and I can't afford to spend any more on materials).

Any ideas are MUCH appreciated by myself AND the chickens, who I'm sure would love to not be lying around on their soggy poop!!!

 

[Grog]

use mulch. then throw seed on it at the end

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Sand will work best and when you leave grass will still grow in it

 

[BlazeJester]

I have heard about sand but had not considered it before a couple days ago. Do people typically "scoop the poop" or does it have some way of breaking down/falling through?

 

[pawsplus]

See my Mud Eradication page (see link in sig) and Pat's page (linked to from my page). Sand, preferably combined w/ a run cover, is your new best friend. Best thing I ever did! I will be adding sand to my second run next Spring when they have decimated the grass in there.

I scoop poop almost daily, using a horse stall fork w/ hardware cloth zip-tied over it. Works great and the run is clean and dry!

 

[fireguy56]

Hi, Definitely go with sand in the run. Good drainage a must as well. The leaves will be a bonus and the girls will love pecking at them. As far as "scooping poop"......my run is sand over soil. The poop just seems to disappear, which I love "cause ....I do not, and will not ....scoop chicken poop". The chickens scratch around and cover the poop anyway. So, good luck on what ya decide.
Erik