What should I put in my run. Sand/mud/shavings

[Rainwing]

my chickens have a mix of sand and wood... not purchased wood chips, but little sticks and broken vines that we throw into their run. their run has been uninhabited for a few years since my old flock had been attacked one night, so now there's patches of grass and stinging nettle. surprisingly the new flock eats the stinging nettle.
sand is nice because the chickens are in absolute heaven when dust bathing. it doesn't get scalding hot in the summer like beach sand, but it is pretty warm and dry so they either dust-bathe or chill in the shade in full summer daylight. it doesn't get muddy after rain either, which is another reason for why i like it. i think the sand is the reason why i've never seen mites in my hens. i dont see a point in putting shavings anywhere outside of the coop but maybe it has some benefit for when they forage, or for absorbing droppings. my run is large so i don't think much about the droppings.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don’t know about wood chips - I use them in my garden and if I leave a pile laying around for awhile it ends up with fungus growing on it

I have all sorts of random stuff on my wood chips. Some fungus/bacterial growth is normal and expected, as part of the decaying process. Main reason not to use fresh chips is because someone on here had a fatal amount/strain? of aspergillus that was traced back to fresh, green chips that were the perfect environment for growth. Fresh chips could also be sappy or more aromatic (since the oils haven't yet dissipated.) My chips are very well aged by this point and have little to no aroma left (even the cedar). They have sat on boggy ground, through a lot of rain, and the chickens have been fine scratching it around and living with it for the last 3 years or so.

 

[We-love-chickens]

So it sounds to me like the best option is leave the mud down as it's already dry, there are some stones in that area from before as it was decorated with shingle and chuck a good amount of woodchip on top.
the only problem I find is I cannot find the wood chips you are all saying are ok. I can find fresh new ones or bark, but by the sounds of it bark isn't ok? Can anyone in the uk recommend a supplier of the correct wood chips.
Thanks.

 

[aart]

I can find fresh new ones or bark, but by the sounds of it bark isn't ok?

Do you have a place to store a pile of them, let them age out a bit?
Bark is OK, as long as it's not piled in deep with wet fresh chippings, or anything else.

 

[LizzzyJo]

I went the gravel route for a bit under wood chips, but I found myself frustrated that I couldn’t do a good deep clean. I was accustomed to removing everything from the run twice a year and composting it. The gravel still bothers me.
I live in a mucky area (drained swamp actually). I raised the ground with mud and sod and then applied wood bark - I love the look of bark. I didn’t age it and it was fine for me, but that’s just anecdotal.

 

[aart]

then applied wood bark - I love the look of bark. I didn’t age it and it was fine for me, but that’s just anecdotal.

Where did you get the bark?
Was a bagged product or....???
Got pics of product and run?

 

[LizzzyJo]

Where did you get the bark?
Was a bagged product or....???
Got pics of product and run?

Ha! We don’t have great timing. I just cleared out the winter run bark to the mulch pile. Now it’s just clay and a bit of grass. I will attach what the bark looks like and the run but the bark is no longer in the run. It’s bagged bark from menards.

 

[aart]

bagged bark from menards.

This stuff?
https://www.menards.com/main/buildi...ni-nuggets-2-0-cu-ft/none/p-1444449946252.htm

 

[LizzzyJo]

This stuff?
https://www.menards.com/main/buildi...ni-nuggets-2-0-cu-ft/none/p-1444449946252.htm

Yep that’s it. It looks really good and it’s big enough where the babies never nibble it.

 

[aart]

I just cleared out the winter run bark to the mulch pile.

Why clear it out....is it pretty broken down?
How often do you change it out?