what's in your run?

[ufgrad98]

I'm getting ready to build a run and a need to know what to put on the floor of it. There is no grass where the coop is going....right now its dirt and mulch. I'm not allowed to let the chickens out of the run, so that's where they will always be. Can you help me figure out what to put in there to keep them happy and to keep it easy to maintain? Thanks so much!

 

[ADozenGirlz]

SAND. SAND. SAND. Hands-down, the best material for a run.

I use a kitty litter scoop & a beach pail first thing in the morning to clean out the run and then they free-range for the rest of the day.

 

[10 point]

sand is very popular and easy to maintain and don't wory about not having grass they eat it and have it trampled to the point where it's gone within a week

 

[ufgrad98]

what are the benefits of sand in the run?

 

[benjoycei]

less odor and they can dig all they want and it's good for their grit

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Lots of dried leaves. They just stomp them into bits and compost it with their poop (the run is covered). Free and easy.

 

[brandislee]

I'm still relatively new to this too, but I've read a lot, so here is what I know:

It depends on how the site drains. For example, my run is on the highest point of my yard with very sandy soil. I shouldn't have any drainage issues. However, if I did I would put pressure treated 1x4's or 2x4's around the bottom. Then I would make four 4'x4' (or however many you can fit) frames made of landscape timbers covered with some sort of netting (something the chickens could walk on) and space them around the yard with some sort of ideally perennial high protein greens planted under them (chicken salad bars). After these were laid and planted I would put pea gravel around them (this is what the boards were for- to keep the pea gravel from spilling around the yard.

That's what I would do. I plan on doing the salad bar part, and just hope I don't need the pea gravel. I may eventually mulch around the salad bars, once they've killed all the grass.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

everybody loves sand, so i lined half of my run with it and left the other half as just dirt. my girls hated the sand and refused to go anywhere near it, so now that area is straw and they are much happier. alot of people on here say they have issues with mud but the area of my run that is dirt is covered during the rainy season so it doesnt matter much- and i have put brick and pavestones around the entrance to their coop and it keeps all the crud out.

 

[georgiagail]

Based on what others have done here, sand. It really cut down on the odor and the young chickens seem to enjoy their sand baths.

We did build a "grass box" (based on another excellent idea from a poster here), covered it with chicken wire and are waiting for the grass to sprout.

Gail

 

[dbounds10]

Love my sand so far. We plan to run the tiller through it every week or so to turn it all over (disappearing poo!)