[Rhiannon]

Having a run that was more mud than firm ground , i have been racking my brains over what to do, i cant shift the shed its 7x5  and was not good enough quality unfortunatly  that it would take  any moveing.

Ive heard of hardwood wood chip, but by accident i stumbled over  an article on useing gravel, i read that this can be raked over disinfected etc quite easily, so is basicaly permanant.

10 to 20 mm was reccomended soi duely ordered 2 big sacks which are approx .8 of a ton i think?

Sunday i set to work and emptied one bag  and this morning i used half the other one, so far i havent put it down awfully deep as they dont seem to be scratching around in it but walk and peck at it. Its smooth and not jagged so feet are fine.

I have left the area under the small coop which is an enclosed unit roof etc i use when im introduceing new hens, plus an area beside the shed thats big enough for dust baths and scratching if they realy feel the need, neither area gets walked over by people.

So im hopeing this will work out well  .

We have 4 to 6 new girls arriving in about 2 weeks so its nice and fresh , i will report on how we manage with it , any experiences with this substrate from other users would be very interesting

[jinty1911]

We have some around the henhouse.  It has gradually got worked into the mud with the girls scratching about in it but easy enough to top up.

[Fisherman]

I have tried all sorts in the run and have found coarse sand to be the best (concreting sand). It takes a few weeks before it gets messy and then I just rake it over and cover it with new sand. I will continue to do this until the ground dries out and then I will start moving the run onto fresh ground / grass every 4 - 6 weeks. Its no point moving it in winter as the ground is far too wet and the chickens just trash it in a couple of days.

I do let them free range as much as possible as well.

[Totty]

 A friend of mine "borrowed" a large bootful of small pebbles from a beach and put them in the chicken run, which looked lovelly for a while. Over time though the pebbles dissapeared, leaving him with a piece of ground full of stone. If its a tottaly permanent area used solely for chooks then it may be fine if topped up, my run is fixed and i add woodchip/hedge trimmings whenever it gets messy, come spring ill rake it out and compost the waste and leave a clean area with grass shoots sprouting everywhere which i can top up again when it gets messy.

Totty

[Rhiannon]

Yes i had thought that there was a possibility of the  gravel being swallowed up at soem stage. The run is in a permanant position , if it ever goes it wont matter as i think that wil be the stage we are unable to look after either the garden or the Hens  and it will be matted and graveled for maintenence.

If i had a brain in my head id have situated the shed in such a way that i could have moved the run left or right , but i had no idea a few hens could  such a mess lol..

Thanks for your feedback everyone its apreciated