What Litter Should I Use For My Run?

[nordicacres]

We've decided on sand for the coop. The outdoor run is 10' x 23' and is a concrete pad with sides that come up about a foot. So there will be no drainage below the litter. And yes, we will be enclosing it with hardware cloth and a roof. What litter would work best in this situation? TY!

 

[Messipaw]

No drainage is a tuff one. I would go for sand and wood chips. Sand helps with drainage but can get mucky if it sits in water. Standing water is what you want to avoid. If it were me I would go with river sand and wood chips. Hope this helps.

 

[JadedPhoenix]

Maybe some gravel under the sand to help with the standing water issue?

 

[aart]

Are you going to put a solid roof on the run or will it be open to all weather?
How much water stands in the area after snowmelt or a hard rain?

I'd use wood chips/leaves/organic matter before sand or gravel.

 

[AmyMurphy]

Where can I buy river sand?

 

[triplepurpose]

Not that you asked, but would definitely recommend deep litter over sand. Sand you have to clean, while deep litter mostly cleans itself. Also, it captures the manure for use on a garden or compost bin, whereas with sand, all that valuable poop just leaches away (possibly into groundwater, too). I never understood the sand thing...

 

[nordicacres]

Are you going to put a solid roof on the run or will it be open to all weather?
How much water stands in the area after snowmelt or a hard rain?

I'd use wood chips/leaves/organic matter before sand or gravel.

We are planning on putting a solid roof overhead. All sides will be hardware cloth. We will probably tarp at least one large panel during the Winter to help with drafts. I'm not sure about the standing water. We haven't lived here long enough to really notice. No hard rains and hardly any snow this year . . . My DH has said we should use straw in the run, but I'm not sure if it is a good option or not. TY!

 

[Blooie]

If you are in SW Minnesota, one thing that has been commented on BYC before is that the sand turns into rock in winter. With the combination of the concrete pad, snow, ice and freezing temperatures I don't know how comfortable that would be for the chickens or how easy it would be to clean. Good, deep litter gives them a place to burrow down into when it's cold, and scratching around in it during those short winter days when they are often confined does a lot to prevent boredom related issues.

 

[aart]

Quote: A good solid roof will help a lot with any drainage issues and especially in winter with the snow load you'll probably have.

Straw could be one organic ingredient, but it can get moldy on it own.

I would strongly suggest that you flood that area with a hose once the ground is good and thawed and see what the water does......
......it may drain with a slope that is hard to see when dry.
....it may drain because of the fractures in the concrete.
...the water may pool deeply in places and you may want to consider drilling thru the concrete to eliminate that issue.
No matter what it does, knowing what might happen under whatever bedding you choose will help you keep an eye out for potential problems.

 

[triplepurpose]

My DH has said we should use straw in the run, but I'm not sure if it is a good option or not. 

Your run will be covered, so should work great. Leaves or leaf litter also work (I use some of both) and if you have a source of these for free, so much the better! Just don't rob fruit trees or similar of too much of their leaf litter--unless you plan to bring some back to them full of chicken poo! good luck!