What's the best ground cover for a run

[blueferral]

I think the mulch might be a good idea if you want to dig it out every now and again to compost it. With the river sand, the rain comes and the poop goes.

 

[tweetysvoice]

So, is mulch safe then? I've been spending the last couple weeks shoveling out mulch from where the run will be in our new coop area thinking that they wouldn't like all those big wood chips. If it's ok then I'll just leave it. I'm not sure what type it is, but I know it's been down for over a year now.

 

[ontimeborzoi]

Sand, hands down. I use sand in my dog runs too now. Have spent years trying different substrates for various animals and sand is best for everything. I have used mulch. In my experience it looks nice but holds too much moisture and breaks down fast. Sand has no downside far as I can tell.

 

[blueferral]

I use the river sand. No experience with mulch. Do not know if it is safe or not. When my girls are free ranging they spend lots of time in the woods. That is mostly leaf litter and sticks. The hens spend a lot of time in the blackberry brambles. If that doesn't hurt them I cant imagine mulch would (hehe is that a pun). As far as physical trauma. If they eat the wood no idea, but in many posts I have read, "chickens won't eat something that will hurt them, unless they are over crowded."

I guess you could do half run in mulch and half in sand, then see what you like and what the birds like.

 

[LILCHIKBIGCHIK]

I'm new to chickens, but I know most mulch is cedar or hemlock which is poisonous to chickens I believe, plus most mulches are dyed colors which I would assume would not be good for the chickens to ingest either. I'm going to use sand

 

[dmclalin]

So, is mulch safe then? I've been spending the last couple weeks shoveling out mulch from where the run will be in our new coop area thinking that they wouldn't like all those big wood chips. If it's ok then I'll just leave it. I'm not sure what type it is, but I know it's been down for over a year now.

I would just use it for now. You can always compost it later and then add river sand.

 

[Gigiintheforest]

Wow! I love your coop. Some great ideas - fantastic!

I highlyrecommend sand. It's what we use in both of our runs & we have the same set-up you're describing with the plastic sheeting in the winter. It does freeze if it has gotten wet but each spring we simply till it and add a fresh layer of new sand. I have read horror stories about gravel, particularly gravel under sand as it becomes a mixture very quickly, with the gravel working its way up through the sand. Gravel is also tougher on the chickens' feet. Plus, chickens love to dustbathe in the sand (most months of the year when it is not frozen).

You can see our coop set-up and the slope of our property in my coop tour here:
http://eggcartonlabels.blogspot.com/2011/05/virtual-tour-de-coop.html

Best wishes with your project!

 

[Uncle Mark]

I tried mulch and straw hay and now removed all of it and left the black soil because it does get wet with sprinklers and rain could not keep it dry and was concerned with bacteria or mites but they did enjoy both

 

[jenniemig]

I am also using sand, they called it drain field sand for septic tanks. It looks just like the sand from the beaches around here, I'm guessing it was from a dredging project. It is very coarse and has various size shells and coquina mixed in.

One tip that may or may not help in your area...I added a layer of nursery fabric under the sand to keep the chickens from digging and mixing dirt with the sand. It was a BIG job hauling the sand into the coop and run, hopefully having that barrier will make it last longer.

 

[Uncle Mark]

Ok you guys convinced me and today I put in sand they seem to be interested