What should I fill our chicken run with?

MrsHiestand

In the Brooder
May 27, 2022
3
6
11
We have built a 6x13 foot chicken run on an existing concrete slab. We plan on filling it up with 5-10 inches of fill so that the chickens aren't living on concrete. One side of the run will be closer to 5" deep and the other side will be 10" deep due to the existing concrete slope. What should we fill the run with? Should we fill it with top soil, wood chips, a mixture of those two, or something else we haven't thought of? I appreciate your feedback.
 
I use sand in my run, but you would have to get a lot of sand to fill your run, and sand is heavy. But you might have trouble walking in it if its over 5 inches deep.
 
Do you garden?

I would do a mixture of topsoil and mulch. The chickens will love to scratch and dig in it. They will do their thing and poop all in it and later on, you can take some of that out, let it age a year or so and you would have amazing compost for your garden.

Also. While it’s bare, now would be a good time to section a small part off for a permanent dust bath.
 
Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters.

I'm a great fan of Deep Litter and Deep Bedding.

Is your run covered or not? You can use the same material -- any dry organic material that you can get readily at an affordable price -- in either situation, but the management will be a little different. :)

Coarse wood chips, the sort you get from a tree-trimming service, are often considered the gold standard for controlling mud and odor, but there are lots of options: Wood chips, wood shavings, straw, pine straw, dry fall leaves, rice hulls, ground corncob, etc.
 
Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters.

I'm a great fan of Deep Litter and Deep Bedding.

Is your run covered or not? You can use the same material -- any dry organic material that you can get readily at an affordable price -- in either situation, but the management will be a little different. :)

Coarse wood chips, the sort you get from a tree-trimming service, are often considered the gold standard for controlling mud and odor, but there are lots of options: Wood chips, wood shavings, straw, pine straw, dry fall leaves, rice hulls, ground corncob, etc.
Thank you! Reno, Nevada - very dry; mild snow amounts and the run is fully covered and predator proof even though we are in the heart of the city
 
Do you garden?

I would do a mixture of topsoil and mulch. The chickens will love to scratch and dig in it. They will do their thing and poop all in it and later on, you can take some of that out, let it age a year or so and you would have amazing compost for your garden.

Also. While it’s bare, now would be a good time to section a small part off for a permanent dust bath.
Yes, most of my small backyard is comprised of a garden.
What would make a good dust bath- a section that's purely top soil?
 
Thank you! Reno, Nevada - very dry; mild snow amounts and the run is fully covered and predator proof even though we are in the heart of the city

If you put your location into your profile people will be able to give better-targeted advice when you ask questions.

It sounds like you'll have more of a Deep Bedding system then since Deep Bedding is dry while Deep Litter is moist.

Here's my article:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

Yes, most of my small backyard is comprised of a garden.
What would make a good dust bath- a section that's purely top soil?

I let my birds dig their own dust baths according to their own preferences. They seem to want different things at different times because they move the dusting area around from time to time. :)
 
The dirt on my property is pretty sandy and has a high clay content so as long as the dirt is dry they can dust bath wherever. So just dirt would work as long as it’s kept dry so they can scratch it up into smaller particles. But I would try and not mix any mulch or anything that can hang on to moisture in their dust bath.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom