Static run - What flooring to use?

[Jon James]

Hello all,

After a little more advice please.

Due to having a large garden, but with no lawn I have to have a static run and coop set up.
I have three chickens and the run area is 1 metre by 3 meters (inc space under the coop). However the are allowed out and about in the garden whilst i'm there.

Under the coop and run is a wooden frame that goes six inches into the ground with a wire mesh bottom to stop digging in and out. For two thirds of the floor space the frame is filled with soil with landscaping mesh over which is in turn filled with gravel. The idea being that the faeces get mixed into the gravel and break down and wash through. However I am finding that the faeces and gravel get compacted together and I'm concerned that this is no better than a muddy floor.
The other third of the floor space is a wooden frame with soil under that grass seed is sown into, the chickens can't get to it and I'm hoping that as it grows they can nibble it without digging it up and their droppings here will fertilise the grass.

So my question is this, can anyone suggest a better flooring? Would wood chips be better and dug out and disposed of from time to time? Or am I just being unrealistic as to how clean I can keep the floor? I mean chickens do poop a lot!
Will the frame and grass work?

Thank for taking the time to read my ramblings.

Kind regards
Jon

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I think sand is great. It drains, but you can also easily rake it, to clean it, if you need to. That may work for you.

 

[elmo]

Sand.

I bought a reptile litter scoop and taped it to a long handle. I can pick up droppings but the sand sifts through the scoop. Love it. And the chickens love to dustbathe in it.

 

[patandchickens]

Droppings from that number of chickens in that small an area are likely to *kill* rather than fertilize the grass, you may need to keep a sharp eye on that and I would really not hold my breath for it to go well in the long run.

Indeed I think it boils down to, with having only minimal run area and apparently not very free-draining soil you are likely to have sanitation challenges no matter WHAT your run footing is. If you want things to look very tidy and no poo visible, it will be *work*... I would recommend either sand that you clean every day or two with a fine rake, if you are in a never-freezes-in-winter climate, or some form of organic material that you remove and replace as needed (along with frequent spot cleaning).

One stray thought, just in case -- do your chickens scratch around in the gravel you've currently got, digging and making holes and reshuffling it around? If not, perhaps it is too large or too pointy, or simply too heavy... it might be worth trying sand (or, for a freezes-in-winter climate, sand mixed with some organic material) to encourage the chickens to mix things together better. This promotes leaching and composting, so that you don't get as much poo hanging around "whole".

Good luck, have fun,

Pat