A great way of ensuring the chicken run is well drained is to choose a spot which is already well-drained. Another possibility is to build up the area where the run will be, using a layer of sand or sandy soil about 8cm thick. Then put on a layer of topsoil of 8cm - 10cm, then seed with grass.
The easiest and most popular method for composting your chicken litter is called the deep litter method. The basic idea behind the deep litter method is to simply layer fresh litter over the used litter, so the chicken poop at the bottom of the pile can decompose and eventually become compost.
Using the deep litter method on a dirt floor
For this method, you need to use a thick layer of organic bedding in your coop, such as wood shavings or straw. However, wood shavings are very likely TOXIC to your chickens, and I don't recommend using them in any scenario. If you must use them, aspen is your safest choice.
Ground cover within the coop can be anything from wood chips, straw and grass to bare ground. Organic materials tend to break down quickly and plain sand is a popular choice for its durability. Whatever you choose, make sure the chickens may easily scratch and dig.
Wood Shavings: Chicken Coop Flooring
Wood shavings are an ideal material for your coop flooring. They give off a pleasant smell throughout your garden when kept inside.
Chickens love scratching up dirt, dust bathing in it, and gobbling up grass, weed seeds, and insects, worms, and other invertebrates they find while scratching. When confined to a small outdoor run even a few chickens will soon devour every bit of grass and convert it to bare dirt.
Medium- to coarse-grained sand makes excellent chicken coop bedding in coops that do not have drainage problems and do not get wet inside.
Carry out a Regular Cleaning Schedule
The best way to make a chicken coop smell better is to maintain a regular cleaning schedule. Some people prefer to use shallow bedding. If this is you, you should aim to replace the bedding once a week, using vinegar and water spray to neutralise any odours.
Tips to Make Cleaning Your Coop Easier
You should remove the poop under the roost area every day or at least once a week (you can do this in a short time by using a litter tray). Remember that multiple layers of dried chicken poop on a hard surface will harden, making it very difficult to remove.
Sand in the Chicken Run
“The medium-grade sand is probably the best type of bedding for the coop area, as it doesn't hold liquid, doesn't harbor pathogens like mold, and it's very easy to clean,” Byrum says. “A lot of people try to use play sand, but there's a problem with the smaller grain silicates.
Sand can be used on coop floors that are cement, dirt, or wood. Inexpensive linoleum placed on top of wood flooring before adding sand protects the wood underneath. I use approximately 4 inches of sand inside the chicken coop and as much as a foot in the chicken run. More is better!
Lime has been used in the building and construction industry for years as a quick solution to dry up soggy ground on construction sites. It will work the same way for muddy areas of your garden, such as pathways to harden the soil and prevent marshy walkways.
Use Absorbant Materials. If your run and coop are stationary, consider bedding it down with straw, hay, grass clippings, or leaves. Shavings are also a great way to wick up the moisture from a heavy rain. Utilizing absorbent materials is especially useful if your run is a small space.
How often you should be cleaning a chicken coop? You should provide fresh food and fresh water every day, and you should clean the bedding out once a week or once a month(the deeper the bedding layer the less often you have to clean it out). It's best practice to do a total clean-out at least twice a year.
Gravel in the chicken run.
If you have a particularly hard, clay soil which bakes and sets like a rock in the sun, and becomes a mud bath clinging to everything after rain, adding a layer of gravel to the top may help. Adding a gravel layer can also help when laid on a run that has already turned to mud.
The reason most chicken coops should be built in the shade, if possible, is because chickens tend to really struggle with the heat. A cool coop in the summer is, in most cases, more important than a warm coop in the winter.
Chicken owners normally use bedding such as shavings, sawdust, dry leaves, or straw to provide a dry cushion for chickens and to control odor and pests. The coop bedding can be collected with the manure and dumped into a composting bin.
For example, if the vent feathers are soiled, I wash only the butt area. Why? Because chickens spend a great deal of time arranging and conditioning their feathers with oil from their uropygial gland and a bath can strip the feathers and skin of the benefits of those efforts.
Ideally, you want to let 'hot' chicken manure age for a minimum of 3 months, but preferably 6 months up to 1 year. If you use the hot composting method in a warmed climate or sunny area, you may only need to let the chicken manure compost age for 3 months since the manure breaks down more quickly into compost.
As we've addressed, yes rats can be an issue around hens, but the simplest way to deter them is to employ proper food storage and clean up regularly. Making sure your coop is properly reinforced will keep rats out of the hen house even if they do end up in your garden.