[syman]

i have my coop on a concrete base. I have now blocked in the who 2M x 2M area to make a bigger space for my 2 girls.
My question is, what is the best thing to put on the floor for them. At the moment i have bark chippings which in this wet weather holds water and stays very damp.

I have seen "hemcore", wood chippings and shingle all mentioned.

I am looking into all options at the moment including putting a roof over half the area.

[Sassy]

Bark chippings should not be used as they contain/breed spores that can make chooks ill with respiratory problems - this advice was given to me by a chicken vet (they do exist) on a course.

[grinling]

Roof the area or half of it, as it helps to keep food and coop dry, rest of my run area is being grassed. Also 2/3 of the roofed area is enclosed, to keep the chooks dry. Currently they have access to the garden, in the school hols they have another fenced off area fo them.

[Jomtie]

I was advised to use bark chippings by an experienced breeder. Our run is fully covered so the bark never gets soaked. All this conflicting advice is difficult to deal with!   

[JaK]

I use miscanthus, It's great stuff, the chickens enjoy picking through it. It drys out quickly and makes a very good composted when rotted down after use. At around £6 for a bale it's  cheaper than a lot of other options too.

[syman]

So i am now torn between Hemcore, and Myscanthus. This is to put down on a concrete base for my girls.

[Jomtie]

I use Bliss in the coop/nestboxes but it's quite fine and would blow everywhere if it was on the floor in the 2.5 x 3m run. Is Hemcore and Miscanthus less likely to do this?

[Jomtie]

I've just spoken to our local horse supplies place and they say that lots of their customers with poultry buy their horse bedding for their run floors. It's manufactured from virgin UK softwood that is processed into an allergy and dust free pellet. It costs £4 for a 15kg bag, so seems quite economical. Has anyone on here had any experience with these?

[JaK]

I use Bliss in the coop/nestboxes but it's quite fine and would blow everywhere if it was on the floor in the 2.5 x 3m run. Is Hemcore and Miscanthus less likely to do this?

I don't have any problems with miscanthus blowing around at all. I uae a layer of it on top of the slabs that floor our chicken run.