The best material to put on the bottom of a chicken run is wood chips. This medium offers numerous benefits for both your flock's health and the ease of maintaining their outdoor space.
Why Wood Chips Are the Optimal Choice
Wood chips are highly regarded for chicken runs due to their versatility and practical advantages. They create an ideal environment that keeps chickens happy and healthy while also being beneficial for the garden.
Here's a breakdown of the key benefits:
| Feature | Benefit for Chicken Run | Practical Insight |
|---|---|---|
| Absorbency | Wood chips effectively absorb moisture from droppings and rain, keeping the run drier. | Helps in odor control and reduces the likelihood of muddy, unsanitary conditions. |
| Temperature | They help keep the ground cool, especially during warmer months. | Provides a more comfortable environment for chickens, preventing overheating. |
| Enrichment | Chickens naturally love to scratch and forage in wood chips. | Promotes natural behaviors, reduces boredom, and can help prevent pecking order issues. |
| Sustainability | After a couple of years, the wood chips, mixed with chicken droppings, can be composted. | Transforms waste into a valuable amendment for your garden soil, creating a closed-loop system. |
| Cost-Effectiveness | Wood chips are often available for free from local arborists or tree service companies. | Significantly reduces the cost of setting up and maintaining your chicken run. |
Using wood chips creates a dynamic, living ground cover that breaks down over time, enriching the soil beneath. This deep litter method can be highly effective in managing waste and improving soil health.
Practical Tips for Using Wood Chips in Your Chicken Run
To maximize the benefits of wood chips in your chicken run, consider these practical tips:
- Depth: Aim for a layer of wood chips that is at least 4-6 inches deep. This provides sufficient material for absorption, insulation, and scratching.
- Type of Chips: Opt for untreated, natural wood chips. Avoid chemically treated wood or sawdust from treated lumber, as these can be harmful to chickens. Mixed hardwood chips are generally excellent.
- Maintenance: Regularly rake the wood chips to aerate them and help distribute droppings, encouraging decomposition. You might need to add new layers periodically as the old ones break down or get scratched into the ground.
- Sourcing Free Chips: Contact local tree trimming services or arborists. They often have excess wood chips and may be willing to deliver them for free to avoid disposal costs. Websites like ChipDrop can also connect you with free wood chip deliveries.
- Composting: When it's time to refresh the run, simply rake up the aged wood chips and chicken litter. Add this nutrient-rich mixture to your compost pile, and after it fully decomposes, it will become an excellent fertilizer for your vegetable beds or ornamental plants. Learn more about composting chicken litter for your garden here.
Other Considerations for Your Chicken Run Floor
While wood chips are generally the top recommendation, it's worth briefly mentioning other common materials and why wood chips often surpass them:
- Bare Soil: Prone to becoming muddy, dusty, and can harbor parasites. Difficult to keep clean.
- Sand: Drains well and can be easy to clean, but can become quite hot in summer and chickens may ingest too much of it.
- Straw/Hay: Good for bedding inside coops, but in runs, it quickly breaks down into a soggy, matted mess that can harbor mold and bacteria, especially when wet.
- Gravel/Crushed Stone: Drains well and is durable, but offers no scratching enrichment, can be hard on chickens' feet, and doesn't compost.
For a healthy, easy-to-maintain, and cost-effective chicken run, wood chips stand out as the superior choice.
