Run Flooded

[biddyboo]

Our hens have a 20 x 20 foot fenced yard that originally was grassy but quickly became a smelly, puddled, mud lot-awful, epecially with this wet summer/fall we are having. We had a load of small gravel with lots of dust in it that we were going to use for new drive area. Instead, we hauled it into the chicken yard, where it is about three to four inches deep. We now have wonderful drainage, no mud, and the hens' feet have not been bothered, something I'd worried about. They scratch and stay busy out there all day long except for roosting at night and their free range time in the evening. This has worked great for us and our hens. ~G

 

[DDRanch]

Gravel, sand and then straw is what I use but a heavy rain will pack that down and the smell can be just awful so I change it frequently. I put roosts up in my pen and the hens will perch during the day and stay off the ground.