Well, I live in the cool and often rainy PNW, and I'm wondering what anyone in a similar climate suggests for placing inside of the run. Do you use anything? Currently it is beat up, patchy farm grass, but I suspect that it will be eaten down soon enough with our small flock (12 total for now - but that includes roos that need to be rehomed, so probably 8 at the most hens...). The run is going to be about 8 x 10, maybe a little larger if we can swing the cost. I can use sand, or pine shavings (that will be my deep litter medium of choice inside of the 4 x 8 coop.) I can get hay or straw too. I'm also considering adding DE to it, though with the amount of rain we can get, not sure that makes any sense! Should I see how it goes over the dry months and then evaluate again in October, when our rains pick up again? Thanks !!!
We are in the NE, so not as much rain, but we get our share! We are using bank run gravel in our run. We were also considering sand, so that would work as well. Then you have some drainage and cleaner material as the rain washes through the run. Shavings would be a MESS. JMHO. Good luck!
I live in the soggy PNW too, so I added river rock (drainage rock) to the bottom of my run because I seem to have a drainage problem as it is. 12" of rock on the inside edge and then 2-5" in the center. I plan on adding 4-6" of coarse sand on top of this to complete the run. Hopefully this will prevent issues in the future! Have fun! Here is a couple of pics! Trench with blocks, I also added 3" corrugated drain line to remove any large volumve of water. Lots of drainage rock
If you can, I'd cover the run. I'm in Olympia, WA with a lot of rain. My 12 x 20' run is in what started out as my corral two years ago. I have wood chips that are 12-18" deep but that still gets and stays soggy with all the rain we get. I have a tarp over a portion of the run but that fills up with water. When financially able, I plan to cover the whole run with tin or that plastic stuff to help keep it dry. Good luck with yours.
I also live in Vancouver WA and the best thing you can do is cover it. even thou it rains sideways here. Use sand. it won't stay sand per-say. chickens have a tendency to dig dig dig. at first I was worried that something would dig into my coop. then I was afraid they would dig out!! so mine is covered and had a half yard of sand added. now it's a real dirt, sand, rock, mix. I will add another half yard this summer but will have to remove some first, it's getting kinda deep and I will bonk my head. (even more than I already do...)
My run is mostly covered, and I use a thick layer of woodchip (free from tree companies). I love it! The run has never been muddy, and they have lots of stuff to scratch around in. I would definitely cover as much of the run as you can--I use tarps, over wire that is fastened at a slant. Make sure your coop doesn't drain into your run (use downspouts, or a shed roof), and that you can open the door, nestbox, etc... without getting drenched. They do seem to want to dig at the edges, so I use a wire apron, and landscape timbers to slow them down.
