What to put under a permanent chicken run?

[eggxentric]

My husband and I are building a lovely new coop with an attached chicken run (about 20 ft x 6 ft). At present, it's just bare earth, but we've had problems with rain and mud in the past. We'd like to avoid that by laying down a layer of gravel to allow for runoff. Would this be harmful to chickens? The run will be enclosed on all sides (including the bottom) with hardware cloth....we've had raccoon issues.
Thanks for your input.

 

[pacetruckguy]

Bolder Creek is such a cool area, I have riden my motorcycle through there many times.
My run has a dirt floor and I just through out some wood shavings. When they get too mucky I rake them up and throw out some more. I have extended the roof over the run which helps keep it dryer. I figure within a couple of months the rain will stop anyway. What ever you put in there the chickens will scratch to the bottom, that's just what they do. Good Luck.

 

[eggxentric]

Awesome, thank you! We are planning to put a roof over our enclosure, and letting them free range during the day. Thanks for the input. All this rain is getting us down

 

[pacetruckguy]

You bet. I enclosed an area under an oak tree for the chickens to semi-free range. They love to dig around in the decomposed oak leaves for bugs and worms and such. I'm afraid to let them totally free range, because we have quite a few hawks and there is a pit bull that I'm not quite sure of. Love having the girls. I have 8 hens. I got a half dozen eggs today.

 

[crazyhen]

Washed sand and more sand. Build it up higher than the area around it for protection from water. . There is nothing living in their run so I covered part of it with a tarp. Big mistake. When it rained the water came in and it did not dry, because the sun did not hit the run. WheW!! what a stinker it was. Off came the tarp and in went sand. Much nicer there. Also, under the roofed area as well. I love sand. It drains quickly and dries poop up quick too. I use it over the wire on the bottom of my walk in coop. The wood shavings I used once soured. They were a pain to clean out. Gloria Jean

 

[eggxentric]

Great advice, thank you! How do you keep the sand in place? Doesn't it wash away in the rain (heavy rain)?
Cheers,
C.

 

[CARS]

How many birds? I have no mud problems because I planted grass and alfalfa (I understand you are in a different climate but you must have native grasses that thrive)

I guess I don't understand the point of building a run with the same materials you would use for bedding in a coop? Even in MN, I have to lock up the flock every once in a while and water the run to keep the grass growing. Why couldn't this be done in other areas??

 

[eggxentric]

Great photo, thank you! We have 6 gals, and they do like to nibble and scratch, alot!! I'll be planting grasses in the areas around (outside) the chicken run...and will try my hand at seeding the run itself (but, I'm pretty sure they will eat it all. An additional dilemma: the chicken paddock is under the redwoods....and even though its a southern exposure, it gets only about 6 hours of direct sun a day, making it hard for some plants to get established. deep sigh........

 

[CARS]

You'll never get grass (or anything seeded) to grow if you let the chickens in it 365 days a year. It takes months to get grass to establish.

I am spoiled because I have a 35' x 60' grass area divided into 4 paddocks. I rotate them into different sections so they can't kill anything off.

If you look at the picture, to the right and back the ground is showing. I had my Cornish X meat birds in there and the poo just burned the grass off. Since that picture last summer I have raked in alfalfa seed into the bare areas. If the cold doesn't damage it, I should have one heck of a run for the birdies this year!

 

[eggxentric]

Oh well.....
thanks for the input.