Ground Covering- ideas anyone?

[Lucylou]

My chooks live in an enclosed run, quite large for 7 hens. Its approx 4.00 x 6.00. Now all the grass & vegitation has been eaten it gets quite muddy when it rains & I want to be prepared for the Autumn/Winter. I've read about various good ground coverings, hard-wood chips being the most common. Anyone used this, is it the best thing?

 

[Tim]

Bark Chips (non toxic, not hardwood) are quite popular. 20mm smooth stones is another option.

Most of my runs are grass as I have a field but my garden run has mainly stones and a bit of mud.. but they still have daily access to grass. They still scratch through the stones but they are easily put back.

All of these need washing from time to time and changing every year or so depending on amount of use - this is where bark chippings are good since they can easily be replaced and chooks can scratch in them.

Tim