What to put on the run floor?

RedBarnHens

RedBarnHens

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I am in the process of building a run for my chickens (arriving June!). The larger part of the run is based over grass. I have put a lawn protector plastic grid mesh over the grass, then a couple of weeks later I laid hardwood chips to a depth of about 4-5 inches. I'm happy with that arrangement, but I'm not sure what to do with the other part of the run which is where the chickens will come out into the run from the coop. That area is concrete at the moment and takes up about a third of the run total. There is a short wall between the 2 sections in which we have cut a notch and have two ladders, one each side, for the chickens to access the larger part of the run....phew...I hope you get the picture.

Anyway...should I put something down on the concrete area or should I just leave it concrete?? Suggestions welcome :D

I'm still trying to learn how to post photos on here????
 
There's a subsection of General Chickens on the Index page, Photos of Chickens, which has two threads about posting photos. Here is the link to one of them http://poultrykeeperforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=77
Basically you need to resize your photo down to about 800 by 600 and then use the Full Editor option under the Reply box, and place the file inline according to he instructions. If you then click Preview, under the message, you can see how it's turned out before submitting the post.
Concrete is rather hard, cold and uncomfortable underfoot for the chickens, and it would be difficult to pick up the poo with nothing to absorb it. Yes you could hose it down but then you get nasty slurry leaking all round the edges. There are various bedding materials you can use, most of us prefer Aubiose which is shredded hemp stems, originally made as horse bedding. It's warm, soft and comfortable, they like digging in it, and poo picking is easy. It's also great in the compost heap, especially mixed with greenery such as grass cuttings. You can use Aubiose in the coop and nestboxes as well as on the run floor. It won't produce mould spores, which is a drawback to wood chippings as the spores can cause respiratory problems for both humans and chickens, especially when you come to dig out old, decaying bedding. Also there's no fear of thorns causing the dreaded Bumblefoot problems as can happen with wood chippings. If you can put a roof over this area you will be very grateful for it in wet weather, as otherwise the run will get wet and soggy and uncomfortable.
 
Thanks for your reply Marigold.

I did read the posts re re-sizing photos, but my Mac doesn't seem to have the facility. I'm sure I will work it out soon enough though..lol.

With regard to the concrete, I was thinking of using Auboise or Hemp-E on the floor of the coop and will now consider extending it out into the part of the run with the concrete floor. Part of that area is covered with a clear tarpaulin type material, but I will cover more of it now I think. Do you think it is best to cover the whole of the run? It measures 6m x 3m in total.
 
RedBarnHens said:
Thanks for your reply Marigold.

I did read the posts re re-sizing photos, but my Mac doesn't seem to have the facility. I'm sure I will work it out soon enough though..lol.

With regard to the concrete, I was thinking of using Auboise or Hemp-E on the floor of the coop and will now consider extending it out into the part of the run with the concrete floor. Part of that area is covered with a clear tarpaulin type material, but I will cover more of it now I think. Do you think it is best to cover the whole of the run? It measures 6m x 3m in total.
Click to expand...

When you say 'cover,' do you mean the roof of the run or the floor?
Assuming it's the roof, I started using a plastic tarp when the run got horribly wet but found it tended to sag and form enormous bags full of water, instead of running off down the edges as it was supposed to. I had to push them up from below with a broom, so it all cascaded down, to the consternation of the hens, and got soaked worse than if I hadn't tried the tarp. It all depends on whether you have a flat and rigid base to support the tarp evenly. Mine was just stretched over the weldmesh roof of the run, which also sagged under the puddles. Problem was solved when we installed corrugated plastic roof with a gutter instead.
As you have such a lovely big run, you might consider roofing the part with the concrete base, as the part with deep chippings will drain quite well. Then the coop and the feed can be under cover and the hens will have dry shelter when they need it. You could make a netting screen to shut them into that part for a hour or so before roosting in winter afternoons, so they go to roost with dry feathers. This reduces humidity in the coop which is desirable. You could also fix tarp wind screens round the end sides in winter, to make a comfortable shelter area to use against the winter wind and rain.
If you meant the tarp is covering the concrete, that's fine, but no need to extend it. It's a good idea to cover an earth floor with tarp or preferably permeable weedproof membrane, under Aubiose, as the hens are prevented from scratching earth into the bedding, which keeps it cleaner for longer. But this isn't a problem on concrete of course.
 
Your reply echoed exactly what I have been experiencing. The clear tarp is over the weldmesh roof and it collects water and sags and I have to use a broom to clear it! At the moment it is only the concrete part covered and it extends over the low wall and for about a metre into the woodchip covered area. I think I need to sort out a more solid roof. It will have to be clear so as not to cut out the light into the coop area.

I have also used windproof netting around the south-west corner of the run, which is the predominant wind direction. I'm really looking forward to getting back home from France and finishing everything off :D
 
There's been a nice lot of rain this week, whilst you've been away (over 2" in our dry area of Hampshire here) so get your broom ready for when you return!
 
chicken run 4.jpgchicken run 3.jpgchicken run 2.jpgchicken run.jpgI can't imagine the state of the roof when I get back then! I finally managed to work out how to reduce photos size on the Mac....thank you for your post Dinosaw :D
 
Glad you found it useful Redbarn. Putting a proper pitched roof on most of the run or at least a framework that would help keep the tarp from sagging wouldn't be too difficult. It looks like your paddock is very nicely enclosed and quite private.
 
Thank you Dinosaw. I definitely need to address the roofing when I get home. Our paddock is well enclosed. We had to re-fence the left hand side completely as the sheep from next door were trying to come and join us! The right hand side is pretty good too. The paddock is triangular shaped and comes to a point at the top. We have made is all as secure as possible because of our two dogs...we don't want any wandering. I would like to think that one day the hens we get may have an opportunity to 'free-range' for an hour or so now and then with us being present. I would just worry about them flying over the fencing which is only about a metre or so high.
 
Young pullets are usually rather flighty but they do tend to settle down once they get to recognise the boundaries of their territory, and also once they get well into lay they acquire more gravitas!
 
Once they have settled in then perhaps you should consider electric netting if you would like them to free range. Because the chickens learn early on that they get a painful but harmless shock if they touch the netting it is unusual for them to fly over and it is a good fox protection/deterrent.
 
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