Sand, Pebble rock, combo?

[LiseDujakovich]

Good morning all from Kansas

This has been the absolute best source of info as we started our journey with hens about a year ago. It’s been a learning curve...and we are learning something new all the time! Advice and suggestions are so appreciated. We do live in a suburban neighborhood so have a few more rules than rural flock owners. We have a flock of 10 hens currently - mixture of breeds and ages. We started off with 5 pullets last year. We lost one to a dog - accidental escape. Then we were gifted 7 hens from my husband’s co-worker in the Fall. We followed protocol and they have all integrated nicely. We lost one of those hens in March to old age. This got wordy...sorry

The real issue: KS has crazy weather & we’ve had some pretty big storms over the past couple of weeks that have dropped inches of rain at a time. Our chicken yard has become a swamp & the odor is disgusting. We had a neighbor complain (to us, not authorities) and I don’t blame her one bit! It’s g.r.o.s.s.!! We just have hard packed dirt and the area wasn’t covered at the time. I did some reading here & we have remedied that situation. The yard is now completely covered. I’ve also read about sand, and about pebble rock as separate solutions. I was thinking of getting 1/2 ton of sand and top it with 1/2 ton of pebble rock. We definitely need drainage. Is it ok to combine the two? Or should I stick to one or the other? I’m not sure about how often sand may need to be shoveled out & replaced. Looking for the most cost effective route as well. Thank you in advance

 

[DobieLover]

Good morning all from Kansas

This has been the absolute best source of info as we started our journey with hens about a year ago. It’s been a learning curve...and we are learning something new all the time! Advice and suggestions are so appreciated. We do live in a suburban neighborhood so have a few more rules than rural flock owners. We have a flock of 10 hens currently - mixture of breeds and ages. We started off with 5 pullets last year. We lost one to a dog - accidental escape. Then we were gifted 7 hens from my husband’s co-worker in the Fall. We followed protocol and they have all integrated nicely. We lost one of those hens in March to old age. This got wordy...sorry

The real issue: KS has crazy weather & we’ve had some pretty big storms over the past couple of weeks that have dropped inches of rain at a time. Our chicken yard has become a swamp & the odor is disgusting. We had a neighbor complain (to us, not authorities) and I don’t blame her one bit! It’s g.r.o.s.s.!! We just have hard packed dirt and the area wasn’t covered at the time. I did some reading here & we have remedied that situation. The yard is now completely covered. I’ve also read about sand, and about pebble rock as separate solutions. I was thinking of getting 1/2 ton of sand and top it with 1/2 ton of pebble rock. We definitely need drainage. Is it ok to combine the two? Or should I stick to one or the other? I’m not sure about how often sand may need to be shoveled out & replaced. Looking for the most cost effective route as well. Thank you in advance

I wouldn't do either.
I would put down a thick layer of wood chips.
Does your Highway Department pick up branches curbside? If they do, they usually run them through a chipper or shredder then offer them for free for pick up at the Highway Department. Call around. I get them by the truck load every year.
They compost slowly, drain well and the chickens like to dig through them and dust bath in them.
You need to not only make sure that the run is covered but that no water actively drains through or pools in the run.

 

[rosemarythyme]

As long as drainage at the location is not an issue (I get that water will pool up if there's an unusual amount of rain) then I'd also recommend looking at deep litter. For me it's super cost effective - costs me $0. I just use materials I have on hand: wood chips from my own tree branches, dried leaves collected in fall, grass clippings in summer, garden trimmings, weed clumps, etc.

My run is unroofed and we get a lot of rain, but because drainage is good the litter just helps contribute to that, as the wood chips allow a lot of water to drain through and provides a dry surface for the chickens to walk on.

 

[3KillerBs]

Gravel or sand does nothing to eliminate the odor-causing problem -- the accumulation of poop.

Deep litter, a cold composting process, actually eliminates the poop by turning the combination of poop and "brown" material into garden gold.

 

[LiseDujakovich]

I wouldn't do either.
I would put down a thick layer of wood chips.
Does your Highway Department pick up branches curbside? If they do, they usually run them through a chipper or shredder then offer them for free for pick up at the Highway Department. Call around. I get them by the truck load every year.
They compost slowly, drain well and the chickens like to dig through them and dust bath in them.
You need to not only make sure that the run is covered but that no water actively drains through or pools in the run.

Thank you, DobieLover! Are wood chips/mulch from a local garden center ok? Any variety I should avoid? Some municipalities do pick up branches, Christmas trees, etc. They don’t offer wood chips to the public very often, as most goes to local parks departments to maintain flora in city parks. Good point about drainage! We took care of that purely by accident - lol! The entire coop/run area is bordered with 4x4’s. So no drainage through the area. Now that it’s covered - no pooling or puddling - yay!

 

[perkolator]

I wouldn't buy mulch for this, you want the arborist mulch that has various sized materials like leaves/small sticks that will break down vs the more decorative stuff that's just wood chunks and/or colored (eek). Call up a tree company, ask your city, find someone giving it away, etc. Doesn't even have to be wood chips, it can be grass clippings, leaves, straw bales, etc. If you're going to spend money, invest it in something else like a big bag of grub treats so you get more yummy orange yolks

In theory the wood chips will compost over time, worms will thrive there, insects, beneficial microbes, etc. The chickens will scratch through and into the compacted soil to get to the goods -- all of this will help loosen things up and make for a much happier soil over time.....and not smell and won't give you daily poop cleanup chores like sand would