The way I understand this, you want maybe 40 hens and the maximum fenced run space you could reasonably have is about 1,000 square feet. Your concern is that it will turn into a mud hole. I’m not going to be very supportive. They will strip all the vegetation from that area I don’t care how you rotate it. How fast will depend a lot on your climate and what type of vegetation you have on it, but they will strip it. Perhaps your concern should be more with how to keep it from becoming a mud hole instead of worrying about keeping grass on it.
There are two basic principles when dealing with a muddy run. First is to try to keep water out. The second is to help any water that gets in to quickly get out.
You probably can’t afford to put a roof on something that size. It would take a really strong roof to handle wind, snow, and ice over a span as wide as I’d expect you to have. So rainwater will get in. But one thing you can do is use landscaping to keep rainwater from running in there. Use berms and swales to direct water away from it so it does not get in. I like berms and swales because they are gentle, it is usually fairly easy to prevent them from eroding, and you should be able to use a riding mower over them. Also, make sure your coop roof is sloped or use gutters so rainwater is directed away from your run.
The other thing is to try to position it so it will drain. Don’t put it in a low spot. Put it on a slope or the top of a little hill. If you have it put it in a low spot, maybe fill it some so it is higher than the surrounding area. Sand works real well as a filler since it drains so well.
You are not going to keep it perfectly dry if the weather sets in wet. If you have a little run where you could cover it and fill it with several inches of sand, you could keep it pretty dry, but not with a run the size you’ll need for 40 hens.
If you want them to get some green stuff, you can build a frame out of maybe 2x6’s and cover that with wire mesh. All I’m talking about is a rectangle covered with wire mesh where they can eat the grass that grows through the wire mesh but they cannot get to the roots to scratch them out and eat them.
A lot of us integrate new chickens with very few problems. Occasionally there are problems, but many of us do it all the time. If space is tight, it is a lot harder, but if you have plenty of space, it can be done, usually without a lot of worry. Don’t let it get into your head that integrating chickens is always a disaster. I do it every year with brooder raised chicks and I have not lost one yet to integration.
I hate to give hard and fast numbers for coop or run space. The minimum you need can vary depending on the individual chicken’s personality, the breed, how many you have, your climate, and how you manage them. Instead of looking at the minimum space you can get by with, I suggest you provide as much space as you reasonably can. I normally free range, though I’m limited right now to a space with electric netting because of predator problems. But my coop is big enough I can leave them locked in it for a couple of days if I want to without them killing each other. My run is big enough that I can leave them all locked in there for a month or more if I need to and still have room for a broody to raise chicks with the flock. Providing extra space gives you a lot more flexibility in how you manage them and how you deal with problems. I find the more space I can give them, the less hard I have to work. I have not shoveled my coop out in three years. I’ll probably do it this fall, not because I have to but so I can get that stuff on my garden.
What you are talking about is very possible, but I’m sorry. You will not have any grass in there.
Good luck!!!
There are two basic principles when dealing with a muddy run. First is to try to keep water out. The second is to help any water that gets in to quickly get out.
You probably can’t afford to put a roof on something that size. It would take a really strong roof to handle wind, snow, and ice over a span as wide as I’d expect you to have. So rainwater will get in. But one thing you can do is use landscaping to keep rainwater from running in there. Use berms and swales to direct water away from it so it does not get in. I like berms and swales because they are gentle, it is usually fairly easy to prevent them from eroding, and you should be able to use a riding mower over them. Also, make sure your coop roof is sloped or use gutters so rainwater is directed away from your run.
The other thing is to try to position it so it will drain. Don’t put it in a low spot. Put it on a slope or the top of a little hill. If you have it put it in a low spot, maybe fill it some so it is higher than the surrounding area. Sand works real well as a filler since it drains so well.
You are not going to keep it perfectly dry if the weather sets in wet. If you have a little run where you could cover it and fill it with several inches of sand, you could keep it pretty dry, but not with a run the size you’ll need for 40 hens.
If you want them to get some green stuff, you can build a frame out of maybe 2x6’s and cover that with wire mesh. All I’m talking about is a rectangle covered with wire mesh where they can eat the grass that grows through the wire mesh but they cannot get to the roots to scratch them out and eat them.
A lot of us integrate new chickens with very few problems. Occasionally there are problems, but many of us do it all the time. If space is tight, it is a lot harder, but if you have plenty of space, it can be done, usually without a lot of worry. Don’t let it get into your head that integrating chickens is always a disaster. I do it every year with brooder raised chicks and I have not lost one yet to integration.
I hate to give hard and fast numbers for coop or run space. The minimum you need can vary depending on the individual chicken’s personality, the breed, how many you have, your climate, and how you manage them. Instead of looking at the minimum space you can get by with, I suggest you provide as much space as you reasonably can. I normally free range, though I’m limited right now to a space with electric netting because of predator problems. But my coop is big enough I can leave them locked in it for a couple of days if I want to without them killing each other. My run is big enough that I can leave them all locked in there for a month or more if I need to and still have room for a broody to raise chicks with the flock. Providing extra space gives you a lot more flexibility in how you manage them and how you deal with problems. I find the more space I can give them, the less hard I have to work. I have not shoveled my coop out in three years. I’ll probably do it this fall, not because I have to but so I can get that stuff on my garden.
What you are talking about is very possible, but I’m sorry. You will not have any grass in there.
Good luck!!!
. The "run" would be chicken wire set up all the way around the perimeter, 15 feet from the walls. I call it... Levenworth 
