What should I put down in the run?

[brickdogg]

I'm building my first chicken coop and am looking to find out what I should use for the run floor. Sand seems like the best idea, but do I need a special type of sand? What would also be the best way to mantain it?

Thank you!

 

[12GAGirl]

My run is just dirt and leaves that I rake up and haul in there for the flock to scratch through. About every two months I rake up everything in the run and haul it to the compost. And since my yard is full of many different types of trees I always have leaves to put back in the run.

 

[patandchickens]

see the 'fix a muddy run' page in my .sig below for discussion of this issue.

What most people would do is let the chickens pick out the grass til it is bare earth, and then either leave it like that until/unless a problem develops, or (if you expect mud/drainage problems) then preemptively put some sand or roadbase or suchlike in there, while it's still dry and firm.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[elmo]

I have sand in my runs and my coop, and I love it! I just bought bags of all purpose sand from Lowes. I use a kitty litter scoop to pick up the poops, and rake it periodically.

 

[brickdogg]

Thanks for the great information. I think I put it on higher ground. Before the coop I never noticed any poolled water there. I'm planning on guttering it and capturing the water for reuse too. Sand from Lowes sounds like a nice and easy solution.

 

[TXmom]

Where I live, it seems like we either have drought or flooding. When it gets muddy, I put bark chips in the run. It's like mulch, but not shredded up, it's large pieces of bark. It works well for a long time, then eventually sinks down into the mud. Then just put another layer on top. It keeps the chickens a lot cleaner and less muddy, and they love to scratch around in it to look for treats (bugs) under the big pieces.