What is the ultimate best material for a coop’s run?

[Shadrach]

Plain no nonsense cheap as chips earth is the best material to have on the ground in a run. Better still if the earth that was on the ground to start with.
Earth knows what to do with the droppings, and the water that falls from the sky. Get the managment right and it will even encourage bug life and the chickens will like that.
I've never understood why people strip the patch they plan to build the coop and run on. leveling the earth on the fence/build line makes sense but all that vegitation inside the run the chickens will take care of in very short order.

 

[CCsGarden]

Thank you! & I also love my leghorn girls!

Here Josey is Josey

 

[StinkyAcres]

Thank you all for sharing all of your ideas and advice! We decided to go with hay! We thought that it would probably be the easiest during the cold winter months! But I guess we will see! View attachment 3973502View attachment 3973503

That appears to be straw and not hay. Straw is best suited for areas that stay dry which appears to be the case with your run since it has a roof. Straw is less likely to mat and mold than hay so it should be okay, but keep an eye on it and remove wet, moldy areas.

 

[Traffie Chickens]

Here Josey is Josey

She’s beautiful!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I see @StinkyAcres wrote what I was about to say.
Don't use hay for bedding. It will mold if it gets wet and that can lead to health problems, respiratory and others.
Always use straw. Hay is primarily for feeding grazers in winter. Straw is for bedding. Hay is cut grasses and forbs allowed to dry in the sun before bailing. Straw is what is left of various members of the grass family like wheat, oats, barley, etc. after harvesting and the grain has been threshed off the stalks (the straws).

 

[Phunktacular]

On the ground! Sorry!

I grow microgreens to sell at farmers markets. I get lots of Coco coir waste. It has seeds, seed hulls and mostly Coco coir. Even when wet, when outside, it dries very fast. My run is so dry and not stinky, it's more dusty.

If you're not using it for gardening, you can find coir in blocks, that'll make about 2.5 cu. Ft, on Amazon for around $15-$20.

 

[Traffie Chickens]

That appears to be straw and not hay. Straw is best suited for areas that stay dry which appears to be the case with your run since it has a roof. Straw is less likely to mat and mold than hay so it should be okay, but keep an eye on it and remove wet, moldy areas.

Oh yes! Thank you! It is actually straw!

 

[EmmaDonovan]

This is what the ground looks like here so that's what the chickens have in their run.

I go through about once a day with a cat box scoop and pick up whatever poop I see but it's so dry here that their droppings dry out very quickly and the chickens scratch them right into the dirt, breaking them down into nothing. There's not much left for me to pick up and no raking is needed.

 

[Demarvell]

Hi everyone!! We are having trouble deciding on what material to put in the run. What materials do you guys use? Or what is the best material in your opinion? And why? Thanks!!

Don't know your area, but here is S.E. Idaho I use masonry sand that I buy in bulk. It's easy to use, move around and the chickens like to eat it. Have had no trouble in the year they have been out there in the run. Drains well, stores well and easily to rake through for the big stuff that is left behind from their behinds and bones, pits and whatever else.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Plain no nonsense cheap as chips earth is the best material to have on the ground in a run. Better still if the earth that was on the ground to start with.
Earth knows what to do with the droppings, and the water that falls from the sky. Get the managment right and it will even encourage bug life and the chickens will like that.
I've never understood why people strip the patch they plan to build the coop and run on. leveling the earth on the fence/build line makes sense but all that vegitation inside the run the chickens will take care of in very short order.

Very good point. The bacteria, fungus and invertebrates that are in healthy soil will quickly take care of the feces.
The one caveat is stocking density. If there are too many birds in too small of space, there isn't any covering that can make it easy.