What's best flooring material for the run?

[jaynaleed]

Greeting greetings!
A proud new mama of 3 chicks! Yeah!!! Also a new member to BYC! Yeah!!! We have completed the coop (lined in linoleum and pine shavings) and are in the process of making their run. Should we cover the floor of the run with pine shavings, sand, gravel, dirt, etc? Also, is it a good idea to use DE in the coop and in the run? Many thanks!
Jaynalee

 

[Kennyog]

I like pine shavings.They don't cost so much.Easy cleaning.Rake them out,dump new in.

 

[Chickenmaven]

DE will disintegrate in a run. Just play it by ear. If it gets too muddy or mucky, you can rake used shavings from the coop into the run or you can place sand. I have about 30 birds in a 14x30 run. There will be no landscaping, laying of sod or other TomFoolery in this area. I add old shavings or straw if it gets so mucky I cannot walk through it.
Just this weekend, I removed 5 wheelbarrows of broken down shavings from my run & used them in my flower beds...

 

[Terri]

I have pine shavings and shredded paper in the coop, straw in the run. You have to make sure you turn them

 

[CityChook]

I have 4 chickens in an urban backyard. I put about 3-4 inches of play sand in the run. I just bought it in the 50 lb. bags at Home Depot. The run is covered, so it stays pretty dry anyways, but the sand makes the poo just disappear. I love it.

 

[silky ma]

I have been working on building a hen house and asked my vet about bedding and what to use on the floor. He said clean sand is good if you change it twice a year and bake the old in the sun for 1-2 weeks.----He loves cedar shavings also.
So I decided I will use sand ....but first I will prep the floor and lower parts of the walls and apply HERCULINER -( the stuff for truck beds) . This way I can wash down everything as I do needed changes.
I did have to buy my liner from the original company so I could get it in white. They have it also in red and grey.

 

[BarkerChickens]

Quote:
What a great idea! We leave our run "natural", but have been wondering what we'll do with all the extra shaving from the new coop (we still haven't gone through all the shavings from the old (much smaller) coop. We even rototilled a bunch of aged shavings/poo into our gardening beds before planting. Letting the chickens break it down in the run is a magnificent idea!! Thanks so much!

 

[lunkerchicken]

The girls haven't moved into the coop yet but when they do they will be greeted by pine shavings on the floor of the coop and a sand/dirt mix in the run. I can't wait and the way they are growing, I bet they can't either!

 

[GardeNerd]

I have sand over concrete. It is a multipurpose type sand and the size of grains are all different, including lots of grit size bits. I love it and it is easy to rake out and keep clean. No moisture issues even when they bump the water and spill it. Drains great.