What do you use in your run?

[Tchase88]

What do you all use in your runs? Right now my run has a layer of hay down so they aren’t walking in mud.
Are there other alternatives to hay? Like mulch, wood chips, Or straw? They love the hay because they can eat whatever they find in it, but I’m am curious if there is a better material to use.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I use straw. Buy the compressed bales right now. When I have more dry storage, I'm just going to buy a wheel from one of my neighbors. Or make my own from pasture weeds and grasses.

 

[LeoTheUnicorn]

We use sand and they love digging through it, but it's constantly needing to be added to, so I think we are going to make it a full cover instead of a partial cover and use shavings and straw/hay instead.

 

[yakitori]

leaf litter, it’s free!

 

[DobieLover]

What do you all use in your runs? Right now my run has a layer of hay down so they aren’t walking in mud.
Are there other alternatives to hay? Like mulch, wood chips, Or straw? They love the hay because they can eat whatever they find in it, but I’m am curious if there is a better material to use.

I use a thick layer of wood chips that I get for free at my local Highway Department.
The chickens scratch it up and dust bathe in it, dig out damp holes to lay in on hot days and dig up and eat any critters they find. The poop cold composts and I don't remove anything from the run.

 

[DobieLover]

What do you all use in your runs? Right now my run has a layer of hay down so they aren’t walking in mud.
Are there other alternatives to hay? Like mulch, wood chips, Or straw? They love the hay because they can eat whatever they find in it, but I’m am curious if there is a better material to use.

I use a thick layer of wood chips that I get for free at my local Highway Department.
The chickens scratch it up and dust bathe in it, dig out damp holes to lay in on hot days and dig up and eat any critters they find. The poop cold composts and I don't remove anything from the run.

 

[feather13]

We used wood shavings for years, but it's so messy and imho didn't look great. So we just installed sand in the coop and run. I don't know what happens when it rains (we live in southern California, so don't get a lot of rain), but there's a concrete ledge around the coop and run that should keep most of the sand from running out and soil that drains really well underneath. I think it looks great, but it's also still new. I think what you choose really depends on where you live.

 

[3KillerBs]

IMO, a mix of materials is best.

Currently my chickens are on grass, with sufficient square footage that they might not destroy it before the house is placed and they're moved to their permanent site, but my in-town chickens had shavings, pine straw, straw, corn husks, dry grass clippings, fall leaves, and whatever other "compost brown" that I had handy when I wanted to add more material to the run.

Mixed materials and textures drain better and resist packing and matting better.

 

[yakitori]

A new pile of leaves also keeps them entertained for quite a while



This 2ft high pile will vanish into nothing by tomorrow!

I also dump my food scraps directly into their run for composting. They pick out what they want to eat and ignore the rest. No smells!

 

[drinkoj]

Pine shavings, leaves, grass, paper from the shredder, left over coffee grounds with the filters, and weeds I pull up from the yard/flower beds. You just don't want that straw to turn into an adobe house floor, as straw doesn't decompose as fast as leaves, but it'll work for your purpose at the moment. Like @3KillerBs said, a good mix of them all. When you use a mix of everything, it'll decompose faster and draw more good critters that help with the decomposing and the chickens can chase/eat.