Floor Material For Covered Run

[bwebster]

Hello!! First time flock owner wondering about what the best material for the floor of my run will be. I know there will be different opinions on what is best and for what reasons, so lets hear it! My run is about 10x6 and will have 5 chickens. The roof will be covered by metal roof panels. I live in NW Connecticut, USA.

I placed the run on a higher point of my yard so drainage hopefully won't be an issue. I was thinking of just leaving it dirt as it currently is, or perhaps sand but I feel that may be tough to clean. Is the deep litter method feasible for the run as well as the coop? We have a large garden and always welcome compost. I have 2x6s around the entire run that could hold any substrate in. (No photos currently but I may upload later.)

We won't have our chicks for a few more weeks so there is plenty of time to figure this out. Thanks!!

 

[Wezdin]

I would go with woodchips if they are available in your area, i know some mills give it our for free. If you do go with that you would need to section off a part for dustbathing. Sand Isn't a bad idea at all, I just haven't used it so i can't vouch for it.

 

[mowin]

I use wood chips in mine. Didn't add a dust bath. They are really good at digging and made there own.

 

[Ridgerunner]

A covered run is nice but rain and snow still blow in from the side. It will not stay bone dry. But I like a covered run.

I think you are an excellent candidate for turning your run into a compost pile. At 6x10 it is fairly small. It should drain pretty well. Your chickens should keep it turned for you.

Instead of thinking of it as bedding, think of it as a compost pile. What do you put in your regular compost pile? Grass trimmings, dried leaves, garden wastes, kitchen wastes, hay, straw, manure from cows, horses, goats? I think stuff in a compost pile should be readily available and cheap, as in free.

Wood chips are generally not great in a compost pile, they take too long to break down. I made a frame from 2x4's and 1/2" hardware cloth that fits on my wheelbarrow. I sift compost through that. Anything that goes through is compost. Anything left behind goes through another composting cycle. I also use it for drying sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, and other things.

So try it as a compost pile. If it doesn't work out move that stuff to your regular compost pile and try something different.

 

[bwebster]

Instead of thinking of it as bedding, think of it as a compost pile. What do you put in your regular compost pile? Grass trimmings, dried leaves, garden wastes, kitchen wastes, hay, straw, manure from cows, horses, goats? I think stuff in a compost pile should be readily available and cheap, as in free.

That is exactly what we currently have in our compost. The covered roof isn't necessarily to keep the run dry. Partially aesthetics, but I will be using it to collect water into a rain barrel. I figure that some weather would get in.

That is a good idea in regards to sifting to sort compost!

 

[Ridgerunner]

A covered run properly sloped directs water away from the run, keeping it drier. Plus it really helps with climbing and flying predators. I do like a covered run.

 

[perkolator]

Another vote for wood chips, it's what I have in my covered run. Our old coop's run was uncovered and bare dirt - the wood chips run seems WAY more sanitary

 

[rosemarythyme]

Bare dirt is just asking for a stinky mess once it gets wet (even with a roof some rain will get in, or ground water will soak in) or hot. I also use a form of deep litter, with aged chunky wood chips as the base material.

 

[Ridgerunner]

As you can see, mine is bare dirt. When the weather turns wet it does get muddy but it doesn't stink. That's pea gravel in that top photo, not poop. I dump pea gravel in certain strategic areas to cut down on the mud. I think a big part of why it doesn't stink is that mine don't poop in the main run that much. They spend almost all day every day in a grassy area inside electric netting, that's where they mostly poop. The effective "chicken density" and thus poop load in my main run isn't that high. If the poop load is higher then it can stink.

 

[paintedChix]

Ridgerunner - I don't think I've ever seen pics or explanation of how your run is set up. Just goes to show what works in different ways for different areas. Neat!

OP - I would think that any DLM (deep litter material) would work in your case. Make sure to get different sizes of materials - that will allow excess moisture to drain through and also allow oxygen in to do it's job. Once all the grass is gone, a base of wood chips (would already be different sizes IF coming from a tree company. Not the uniform bagged mulch from a box store) would be great if you can get them, then the other materials on top. You don't even necessarily have to mix them in - the chickens will do that for you. If you find that it gets to much tossed up against your fence, put the food scraps or scratch or even some of their feed in those areas - they will scratch as they eat and the "piled against the fence" spots will reduce. All chicken labor; none of yours, LOL.

Materials that can be used - leaves (lots and lots), pinestraw, prunings from your garden and yard, straw, veggie/fruit/table scraps, shredded paper (to include cardboard). If you have other livestock or access to their manures, fine, but I'd go a bit light on adding that as your chickens will manure it up fine. I have added some but a regular compost pile often works better for that. I have used some hay - but your area is smaller and it neither composts down very fast nor does it absorb moisture. Hay has a tendency to mat up.

For such a small area and small number of chickens - be careful how much table and fruit/veggie scraps you provide. Too much can throw their feed/nutrition off. I believe the percentage of "treats" to formulated feeds is 10%, but I could be off on that number. I have a lot more chickens but they are split into groups that are sized from 3-8. Most of the pens they are in are sized - 4x8 (with a moveable run attached until permanent runs are finished), 3x5 - A-Frame tractors that are moved every few days as needed to keep the yard from becoming bare dirt, 8x8 pen/coos & 8x10 pen/coops (w/ freerange time before nightfall). I take out scraps that are fresh (or bring them home from work) & split between pens. Usually some don't get any and I just will start w/ the first ones that didn't get any the next time. It works.

Here is a link to an album I've made showing pics of our different DLMs. I too, now have a sifter to utilize like Ridgerunner's but haven't used it yet.

DLM

Didn't realize that I don't have any pics of the pens that have wood chip mulch in them. Will work on that. Have to move more mulch to several coop/runs. Our wood chip mulch isn't free but found a company that is able to bring some and dump it in different areas around our property. We just have to have/find the time to then move it to other areas where/as needed. We pay $20 - 30 per large dump truck load. Worth it!! We've had 6 loads delivered so far - 2 have been dumped in the corner of our front yard, 2 right next to each other in pony pasture (where it's nothing but sand) another load in the pony pasture next to the round pen where we've planted 8 trees (lost 2 cherries; will plant something else in their spots soon, do need at least one more cherry to polinate the remaining cherry tree) and one up by our front gates so that we can utilize it in the areas where we come enter the property. Here are some pics of two loads and 2 projects we did/are using it for.