What to put on the floor of the run?

[Likac66]

So, we have a coop and small run ready for the girls. We will be extending the run soon - hopefully in the next couple of months.

However, the run is on a bare patch of ground (the site of the children's old trampoline) and I wondered what I could put down for them. Once the autumn comes I will have easy access to plenty of fallen leaves which I thought could make good flooring for them, but what could I use in the meantime? Would grass cuttings be any good? Or small conifer clippings from the hedges?

Thanks for any ideas and suggestions.

[Norfolk drew]

I use bark in my runs and have previously used sand both are fairly free draining I would avoid grass clippings as these will go stagnant and may harbour diseases

[veggiechicken]

I used to spread out the grass clippings on a tarpauline and dry them in the sun. Then use them in the nest boxes and in the covered run. They always had access to an open run to scratch around in too.

[RichmondHens]

The best way to manage a run is to make it up of flexible poultry netting and move it regularly onto a fresh area to let the used ground rest and prevent too much parasite build up. If this is not going to be possible for you and you plan a fixed run then dig the area of the run out to a depth of about 6 inches or so and backfill with woodchip. This will provide a deep enough layer for the birds to scratch about and pick through and stop it getting muddy. Anything just chucked on top of the existing ground will just get trodden in and turn into a mess very quickly and you will soon find you are constantly clearing it out.

[VirginVegGrower]

I had slabs on mine, which had wood chips, not bark chips on - these got cleaned off after a time and disinfected, before laying down new chips/shavings.
Since we bought the Eglu cube and run, we put the girls up on the grass area. We change its position every couple of months, as by that time they are due a clean out and the grass has become dirt patch anyhow. Ours do get to free range though.