Rubber Mat in Chicken Run

[BanjosLaughter]

Good morning; this is my first time posting to BackYard Chickens, but I have been stalking the forums for a few weeks now.

I have five- two week old chicks and I am planning for their move to their permanent home. I have a raised coop that I purchased from Tractor Supply and have built a 3' X 12' run extension. The run will be covered during poor weather. I live in Ohio, and our soil is mostly clay. I am concerned about how to manage the flooring of the run. I have read 200 opinions on what to do (as I am sure all new Chick Moms and Dads experience the overwhelming amount of information) and am overwhelmed and in the "frozen in my tracks" mode currently.

The current floor of the run is mud (because it hasn't stopped raining in Ohio for over 3 months). The space is a section of our garden we no longer use. There is a strong need in the area for Chicken Manure based compost and so I want to clean frequently and use a composting bin. My local zoning laws require a pretty odor free coop and run.

I am thinking about buying some good quality rubber horse stall mats to provide a barrier between the ground and the run. The chicks will have ample free-range time during the week that their run wont be specifically for foraging.

Has anyone used this method? Pro's and/or Cons?

Thank you in advance;
Banjo

 

[getaclue]

When my first group of chickens was thrust upon me, a friend allowed me to convert one of her horse stalls in her barn, into a pen for them. It had stall mats. The stall mats worked fine. Fix it so the opening makes it easy to remove the mats, if you're wanting to save the pooh content. Otherwise, they're easy to keep rinsed off, and thoroughly cleaned at regular intervals.

 

[RustyBucketFarmGirl]

Good morning; this is my first time posting to BackYard Chickens, but I have been stalking the forums for a few weeks now.

I have five- two week old chicks and I am planning for their move to their permanent home. I have a raised coop that I purchased from Tractor Supply and have built a 3' X 12' run extension. The run will be covered during poor weather. I live in Ohio, and our soil is mostly clay. I am concerned about how to manage the flooring of the run. I have read 200 opinions on what to do (as I am sure all new Chick Moms and Dads experience the overwhelming amount of information) and am overwhelmed and in the "frozen in my tracks" mode currently.

The current floor of the run is mud (because it hasn't stopped raining in Ohio for over 3 months). The space is a section of our garden we no longer use. There is a strong need in the area for Chicken Manure based compost and so I want to clean frequently and use a composting bin. My local zoning laws require a pretty odor free coop and run.

I am thinking about buying some good quality rubber horse stall mats to provide a barrier between the ground and the run. The chicks will have ample free-range time during the week that their run wont be specifically for foraging.

Has anyone used this method? Pro's and/or Cons?

Thank you in advance;
Banjo

I would go with chipped wood. I get it free from tree services and it takes care of the issue of Mud and smell. The only drawback in my opinion is that I need to take however much wood chips he drops off to me. Which sometimes could be an entire dump truck full. But on 3 acres it’s not a big deal next to my barn.

I would be nervous of a lot of slipping on rubber floor mats

 

[trumpeting_angel]

If you go with wood chips, be sure they are fully composted. There’s a thread here somewhere about a mold - aspergillosis - taking out an entire flock. It happened to be in those wood chips. It’s a heartbreaking read.

But welcome! So good to have you here!

 

[feathermaid]

Haha you will have no shortage of opinions around here! It's good to hear what others have to say, then decide what works best in your own situation. I live in a suburban neighborhood, space is an issue for me so I have to run a tight system.

I think the stall mats would make a great barrier. But one of the main reasons rainwater floods into the run is lack of gutters and poor drainage. Even a very small roof has a significant amount of runoff, which doesn't have anywhere to go once it hits the ground. I had terrible mud issues my first year (with my tiny prefab) and had to put down a plywood sheet to save my chickens, but that wouldn't be good for long term... not like your mats. My new coop has a gutter, collection bucket and a drainage hose to distribute the water to my garden beds. No mud at all!

Will your run be covered at all times? I would say to use shavings on top of your stall mats though, because their poo will just get smeared onto their feet ,and I imagine it would also be difficult to scrape off bare mats when dried, not to mention super icky when fresh. But shavings (especially with poop mixed in) will get really gross if rain falls on top. You would be changing litter all the time, and your brown to green ratio wouldn't be quite right for compost. I only change the shavings from my covered run once a year, and it composts fairly quickly after that.

My compost bin is in the chicken yard, so it's a popular hangout spot. I also add grass clippings and veggie scraps occasionally.

If you're run isn't always covered (with a gutter) I would suggest using chunky wood chips. I have a thick layer in my larger chicken "yard" and that worked to keep every bit of mud away over winter. I copied this system: Mud Management
And I used the wood chips from a large maple tree we had removed. Yes, I have read the thread about fresh chips causing problems, but that was a perfect storm, here it is:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/dying-chickens.1129854/
There are many folks who haven't had any problems using free wood chips dropped off by their local tree service. The chips will take a lot longer to break down as compost though, which I prefer, because they're heavy and I have a large area to clean out and I only want to do it every 2-3 years or so.

I think another excellent way to collect poop for your compost is to use a poop tray under the roosts. That is by far the best solution I've come across to keep odors and ammonia fumes away since chickens seem to do most of their pooping at night. I fill my tray with ½-1" of Sweet PDZ granulated stall refresher, then just scoop it like cat litter. It's easy, clean and efficient and also does great in compost. Some people mix it with sand, I just use it straight.


Oh, your run space does sound a bit small for 5 chickens (about the size of mine without the extra yard) and I even feel bad if I can't let them out to my grassy backyard sometimes. Here's a couple links that have some good ideas, free ranging or not:
Keeping Chickens Without Free Ranging
Key Points to Successful Free Ranging

 

[aart]

There is a strong need in the area for Chicken Manure based compost and so I want to clean frequently and use a composting bin.

Mats would work if you're going to be gathering poop regularly....and like at least weekly, if not every other day, or it will stink.

 

[BanjosLaughter]

Thank you all for the information! I was able to secure some new mats that were not being used from a local horse barn; I guess I will give them a go. I appreciate all the feedback!