What to put on the bottom of the run

[alicarthen]

Okay, I'm new at this....my run is 7 x 15 feet.....thinking of putting sand at the bottom, thinking of putting several rubber floor mats that have holes in them for drainage on the bottom, so I can hose it off and not have it get muddy....with a small section blocked off and putting sand in that section for them to "play in the sand" .....my worry is do the hens start pecking at the rubber mats and ingest the rubber? Not sure.....anybody have any thoughts?

 

[TwoCrows]

Sand is all I use. And the beauty of it is that it doesn't get muddy! Make it deep. About 4" to 6" deep. It will settle the first week or two and sink, but it is all still there. So make it as deep as you can.

I don't know if you need rubber mats, however the chickens probably won't peck at them, unless they can actually pick pieces of it off. If the mats are thick enough and after they have pecked and tested it, they should leave it alone.

 

[chfite]

Sand is really all you need.

Chris