Run ideas for ground cover

[Mikchicken]

Hello!

I’m new to owning chickens, and I’m learning a lot as I go.

I have come to realize that my soil chicken run is just not working for me. It gets too muddy, stinky and my chickens are getting feces stuck to their feet.

I clean it every day by hosing down the ladder, the logs and other places where the feces sits.

The ground is mostly soil (it was grass but they kicked it all up). I would like to CHANGE this! Hah. I live in Ontario, so humid temperatures, with rainy fall weather and heavy snow! What are my best options for the ground in the run something easy to clean with 6 birds and rain haha

 

[WIchickMama]

Is your run covered? If possible that will help.

Brown organic materials work best- wood chips, pine needles, dried leaves, etc. Some people use straw or pine shavings but depends on climate and others use sand.

Don't hose it off. You want to keep it dry as possible. Turning (you and the chickens) will help the poo breakdown and not be so stinky.

 

[nuthatched]

Hosing it is compounding issues, like wichick said, decomposable materials like mulch, leaves, wood shavings, pine straw, or straw will help you in this.

 

[aart]

Coarse wood chippings, from a tree trimmer, is what I swear by.
If you've got the space to store a big pile, you can get a load dumped for free.

 

[3KillerBs]

Here's another vote for deep litter -- using any dry organic material that you can find locally abundant and inexpensive.

While coarse wood chips are usually considered the gold standard for controlling mud and odor, other options include: Wood shavings, wood pellets, straw, pine straw, fall leaves, various types of yard and garden waste including dried lawn clippings, ground corncobs, rice hulls, and anything else of that general type (shredded paper being better used in the coop than the run since it tends to blow all over creation).

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Do you have a pic of your sitch? The more room they have and less time they spend in one area, makes this less of a problem. I really didn't think I had that much space but when I see much smaller spaces with mud issues it makes it clear that is the difference. My run is large and filled with sandy soil plus wood chips on top. My chickens are not in the run all day, they free range. I've never had issues with mud.