Chicken Run Flooring Gravel

I have most types of flooring around here i have tried most of them over the years.

Chicken run flooring gravel.

Of space per standard chicken in the coop. Wood shavings or straw. In this article you will learn. The best material for a chicken coop or run floor is one that is hard wearing and easy to clean.

The bottom line is organic matter leaves wood chips grass clippings kitchen scraps all go in the run. The run is permanently situated and has an earth bottom at the moment i have wood bark in the run but its only a stop gap as i know its not really too good to use but what is the best thing to use. Following the general rule of 4 sq ft. The pros and cons of using the 8 most common chicken coop flooring materials.

Do yourself a favor and go with construction grade sand. I have bought some bags of pea gravel today which a friend of mine uses it sounds good as the gravel can just be hosed down and disinfected. Flooring materials vary widely in quality cost maintenance needs and safety. Gravel can help disperse flooding rains into the soil with sand much like a drain field from a septic tank.

Solutions to many of the cons associated with flooring materials. Chickens need to take dust baths to keep mites and such off of their bodies. The flock loves to sift though the leftover bedding but if it s left on the ground for long it builds up. Therefore it s possible to cause bumblefoot and other foot problems.

This sand is easily found by us at home depot and its a 50 lb. I have sand wood chip wire solid wood linoleum and dirt in various coops around my fields. Our chicken coop turned more like construction grade sand because we have a gravel ground to begin with. Some chicken keepers have commented that their chickens don t like walking on pea gravel but it is a longer lasting option to wood products especially if you don t have any plans on repositioning your run though won t have any nutritional benefit to the soil if you choose to dig it in.

If your birds are entirely in a gravel ground coop you will want to find a little corner and add in the dirt. Or a local farm type store called runnings has it as well. However chickens love to dig holes and will unearth the gravel. Re grading is a big job but after a few years of the coop staying in one spot it may need to be done to avoid a muddy chicken run.

Good chicken coop flooring is safe predator and rodent proof durable and easy to clean. I keep hearing about all these people cleaning up their chicken coop and run all the time and i m wondering if i m missing something.