Run ground question

[mortie]

I've read a few posts here and wanted to ask a question specific to my situation.

My run floor is dirt. It is completely shaded by overhead trees and it rains here every couple of days...it often doesn't try fully between rain showers.

I don't want the ground to be that moist in their run. There's no standing water or mud but the ground rarely fully dries.

What do you think would be a good substrate to put in there? Mulch? Sand? In the fall I have access to a lot of long soft pine needles but I filled the run with those a couple of months ago and they've already all broken down.

What are my best options?

 

[Mountain Peeps]

I vote sand.

 

[mortie]

I am thinking some fairly coarse sand?

 

[RonP]

Run floor - wood chips, used pine shavings, dried leaves, yard waste, and basically anything biodegradable - free - 8 - 24 inches deep - composted black gardeners gold gets kicked out of 1/2 hardware fencing and disappears. Level seems to remain constant. Chickens love to dig craters and distribute it for me. I just routinely dump a garbage can full of "browns" into the run. Haven't cleaned it, ever. No mud, bugs, or smell.

 

[mortie]

Interesting. Unfortunately I don't really have a lot of yard waste. My mower doesn't bag. The run doesn't smell thankfully... yet.

 

[RonP]

My overhead trees drop their leaves in the fall.
I live it a wooded area with lots of hardwood trees.

I put chopped leaves 2 -3 feet deep into my run every fall.
My run is 14x14 feet.

The birds love it.

I can also get as much free wood chips as I want from the local tree services and my local municipality.

I would start looking for a good source of "browns" for the birds to compost.

A deep litter has benefits sand does not offer.

 

[mortie]

I can get all kinds of yard waste from the city's compost site...people drop their waste off and other people come and get it. They have mulch and grass clippings and the like...I just worry about what kinds of poisons and things people might be using on their lawns and stuff.

Naturally in the fall yes, I can get plenty of leaves, and I would have probably tossed them in there. This is our first year so we haven't had access to that yet. In the winter it won't matter much because that will all freeze totally solid and be covered by a foot of snow.

 

[RonP]

I agree totally, especially with the grass clippings.
I never add "greens" from others, not even food scraps, for this reason.

Fortunately for me I have a lot of "browns" at my disposal, and I plan ahead.

Your worst mud problems may occur during the warmer winter days, when the snow is melting but the ground is still frozen.
Just before, I load up on the "browns.

 

[mortie]

I will definitely be able to fill it up with leaves and such in the fall. In the meantime I guess we're going to just be moist a good bit of the time. I wish the run got more sun, that would help.

 

[mortie]

Here's a picture....you can see it's quite shady.