What do I put on the chicken run floor?

[PedroChickenLady]

I have a concrete floor and want to put some sort of layer down for my chickens. I have 1 rooster (Sherlock) and 1 hen (Watson). It rains off and off right now and the pine shavings that I had for them before gets wet. I'm afraid of them getting sick if it get moldy. and it's gross, so right now, they don't have anything down. My run has a tarp over the top but water leaks under the edges of the coop. (They have a hen house that's a bit off the ground) I want to put some sort of dirt in there for them but I'm still confused on what type of dirt. I've seen garden soil, potting soil, all-purpose sand, wood chips/mulch, and just don't know what to put down for them.

 

[Mamatomany123]

You'll want to do a thick layer of whatever you put. Theyll scratch all the way down. I put wood chips over my dirt. Chip drop can give you a good amount but you'll want to have space to let it dry out. We are raining and snowing right now and the chips seem to be doing a great job at keeping things dry and not muddy.

 

[Sally PB]

@PedroChickenLady, where are you located? It helps to know what kind of climate you have. Also, how big is your run, in square feet?

Like Mama said above, whatever you use, put down a THICK layer. Chickens will scratch down through it. You could start out with some dirt/sand

Wood chips work well. If there are any companies trimming trees in your area (telephone co, or electric co.), let them know they can dump the chips on your property, as that saves them a fee to take it to a landfill. That does mean you need to have a space where they can dump them...

Used chicken bedding (pine shavings, hemp) are a good addition too, whenever you refresh your coop bedding. I put a lot of dried leaves in my run last fall, and the chickens loved scratching around in it.

See if you can channel or somehow redirect rain away from the run. Maybe you can consider putting a permanent roof over it, and if so, have overhangs that keep the water out of the run.

 

[black_cat]

I would do a mix of dirt (you can get bags of potting soil for very little), sand (ditto), shavings, wood chips, leaves, and straw.

 

[3KillerBs]

Plenty of whatever dry, organic material comes readily to hand.

Wood shavings, wood chips, straw, pine straw, fall leaves, and other such material as may be locally available.

IMO, a mix of different materials and textures is better than just one thing because it will be less likely to pack, mat, and develop anaerobic pockets.

 

[PedroChickenLady]

@PedroChickenLady, where are you located? It helps to know what kind of climate you have. Also, how big is your run, in square feet?

Like Mama said above, whatever you use, put down a THICK layer. Chickens will scratch down through it. You could start out with some dirt/sand

Wood chips work well. If there are any companies trimming trees in your area (telephone co, or electric co.), let them know they can dump the chips on your property, as that saves them a fee to take it to a landfill. That does mean you need to have a space where they can dump them...

Used chicken bedding (pine shavings, hemp) are a good addition too, whenever you refresh your coop bedding. I put a lot of dried leaves in my run last fall, and the chickens loved scratching around in it.

See if you can channel or somehow redirect rain away from the run. Maybe you can consider putting a permanent roof over it, and if so, have overhangs that keep the water out of the run.

I live in California near San Pedro. The inside of the run is a roughly 3m by 3m. Because of how the ground is, (has a small slope), the rain tends to drain partially into their run. There is a roof above them. I might try sandbags to try to redirect the rain.

 

[PedroChickenLady]

@PedroChickenLady, where are you located? It helps to know what kind of climate you have. Also, how big is your run, in square feet?

Like Mama said above, whatever you use, put down a THICK layer. Chickens will scratch down through it. You could start out with some dirt/sand

Wood chips work well. If there are any companies trimming trees in your area (telephone co, or electric co.), let them know they can dump the chips on your property, as that saves them a fee to take it to a landfill. That does mean you need to have a space where they can dump them...

Used chicken bedding (pine shavings, hemp) are a good addition too, whenever you refresh your coop bedding. I put a lot of dried leaves in my run last fall, and the chickens loved scratching around in it.

See if you can channel or somehow redirect rain away from the run. Maybe you can consider putting a permanent roof over it, and if so, have overhangs that keep the water out of the run.

I’ve added a couple of pictures of their enclosure. This is before the tarp got added on top and the hardware cloth got added around it. I’ll take some pictures tomorrow and update the thread.

 

[3KillerBs]

I live in California near San Pedro. The inside of the run is a roughly 3m by 3m. Because of how the ground is, (has a small slope), the rain tends to drain partially into their run. There is a roof above them. I might try sandbags to try to redirect the rain.

Can you dig a diversion ditch to carry the water around the run?

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

I wouldn't use potting soil. Chances are it has slow release fertilizer mixed in. Top soil I wouldn't be afraid to use. It should just be "dirt".

 

[Sally PB]

Thank you, the pictures help show what you're dealing with. If I'm seeing it correctly, it's a cement patio, yes?

Here's what I would do. Get some sandbags and put them all the way around the outside of the run enclosure. This will serve two functions: divert the water runoff, and make some "sides" to the base of the run. Then fill the run with whatever you can get in the way of organic material. Dirt, sand, leaves, wood chips, pine needles, to be the surface floor of the run. You'll want to go as deep as possible, 4-6", if you can, or more. Maybe your neighbors have some leaves or wood chips or pine needles you could have?

Cement can be very hard on chickens' feet. Not just walking around on it, but jumping down onto hard surfaces can injure their feet and lead to bumblefoot.

Maybe instead of sand bags, stacking some 4x4 timbers would work better as sides to the base of the run. Just thinking out loud here.

A real roof would help a lot. That way you could extend it past the walls of the run. Gutters and downspouts would work well to collect and divert the rain, just like they do on a house. Which this is: it's your chicken's house.

Good luck. I hope some other people have some ideas too.