matting beneath woodchip

Hi all
I am currently building a 24M² run on my allotment for my girls and have read many threads on the pros and cons of woodchip and gravel as floor linings. As I can't see any major difference between the two I have decided to try the hardwood chip option to begin with however my allotment has a tendency to become quite soggy and I have toyed with the idea of putting pathway matting underneath the woodchip to try and add some stability to the ground. Does anyone know if this is a good idea or will my chooks just rip this to shreds? My girls are currently in my back garden which is now like a swamp and I would like to pamper them and make them a bit more comfortable by having a decent lining to the floor of the run that won't get them and me up to the eyes everyday.
Many thanks

I have rubber stable matting in my run, with Fetherbed stable bedding over.  My run is covered (the girls freerange in the afternoons) and matting enables a complete muck out about once a month on to the compost heap. No mud and can be scrubbed

If you're on an allotment, I would be hesitant to put gravel or shingle down, as you will have a heck of a job picking them up if you ever want to move the coop to another area.

See if you can get hold of a tree surgeon.  You should be able to get a lot of hard wood chippings for fairly little money, and wood chippings can always be rotavated back into the ground, or raked off to a long term compost heap.

Even a little wood chip on the ground makes a huge difference to the stability of the surface, so i don't think you will need any matting beneath it

Is there an issue with putting childrens play bark outside in their run? I have a very large run and just outside of the coop it can get very muddy and mud gets carted into the nestboxes. I bought a few bags of play bark and just scattered it outside and it's dried the area up brilliantly and the girls seem to prefer it too. I used the play bark as it's not toxic. Is this okay?

Wood chip is fine but ive been told bark isnt , because it moulds and releases spores and red mite aparently like it  ? Tho if its in an allotment i can understand why gravel isnt practical , hardwood chips would be better ?

I am reporting  you to the Red Mite  Police