Will this work for maintaining run floor long term?

[SoORchick73]

I have 6 hens (cant have more due to ordinance) and my 15x4' run floor is dirt. So far ive been raking it out every other week and then yesterday I locked the girls in the coop and gave the ground a good hosing. Is that going to be good enough? I dont really want pine shavings on the ground out there. They do drag some out from the coop as they go in and out...im ok with that because its minimal. Is it ok to just leave it dirt? I dont have to have sand or pine right?

It doesnt seem terribly dirty or poopy. Mostly leftover tidbits such as melon rinds or whatnot.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Dirt is fine as long as it doesn't get too muddy.

If it does then you can add some sand for drainage

 

[VelvettFog]

My run is just dirt. No troubles.

 

[chicken_noob]

Chicks are like kids...and what lil kid doesn't like playing in dirt lol.

 

[Buugette]

My run is 7 x 18'... I have peat moss on one half and sand on the other. I rake it every couply weeks, the sand drains nicely and dries out the poo great. Seems my girls like the two different sides. No smell, no flies, and happy hens.

I found that when I left my run as just dirt, it hardened to the point the girls couldn't do much and were bored. They love the loose peat moss and sand.

Diana

 

[Whitney13]

My coop and run has dirt floors. So long as you keep the mud and dust under control you should be good. We are in the middle of a drought here so I have to hose my run down every day and my coop down every 3-4 days to keep dust under control.

 

[ditto]

So....when you say you hose it down, you mean just a gentle spray to control dust, right? not a complete dousing that makes everything mud, right? why else would you hose down a dirt floor?

 

[Whitney13]

For the most part I just gently spray everything down but my chickens like to play in the mud and it is over 100 degrees so I give them a few mud puddles in the run to play in.