Muddy Chicken Pens

Any ideas on what I could put down in my chicken runs to stop the mud? I know it is spring thaw and mud is a reality but I was thinking more long term for summer rains and such.
Grass is not an option, the chickens will have it tore up in no time, so was thinking sand, or bark chips or???
We like to scrape out the pens each fall down to bare ground to keep them clean and let them rest over winter, so need something that can either be scraped over top of or scraped up each fall and will decompose?

I have the same problem. The hen yard is slippery as all get out, stinks to high heaven and is built on a slope. Doing chores, each step is carefully placed so I don't wipe out in that goo!

I have hauled in loads of material to try and fill in the hollows and those chickens just scratch it out again. Because my hen yard is on a slope, they scratch everything downhill. THe uphill side of the yard is a barren wasteland and the lower side is 18 inches deep in tossed out soil and other debris.

If I had FLAT ground to start with, I'd throw down some of those rubber mats they sell at hardware stores. You could shovel them, hose them, pick them up and lug them out if you had to. And the chickens could not scratch them out of place. THe only drawback would be that the black mats would absorb LOTS of heat in the summer and get very hot. BUt if you provided shade it might not be too bad. I tend to hose down my hen yard on hot days anyway. First I want it to dry up and quit stinking, then I hose it down. Makes no sense.

ANything you haul in the hens are going to scratch away. It's just what they do. If my ground wasn't such an uneven mess, I'd try some of those mats. I am thinking of putting some down on the floor of the hen house for added insulation.

What about trying course pine or poplar mulch? The larger pieces would help the top layer dry out and hens shouldn't bother scratching the yard up. Plus it should be reasonable priced and easy to located.

Uno I like your idea about the mats, just not sure how cost effective it would be. I have 6 pens that are 10x20' and that could get pricey.
KRL i was looking at maybe doing the mulch, I saw someone else had that and it looked pretty good. I might use the mats inside the buildings as we built them with no floors, might make cleaning easier, then do the mulch in the outside pens this year and see how it works.

I have heard peat moss. haven't tried it yet waiting for the snow to disappear before attempting any work in the pens as they are icy with a skim of water on top during the days right now. I think we are going to try it in the duck pen this year after I shovel out all the wet stuff.

We had mixed peat moss and sand together and put a layer down in the pen that was approximately 2-3" thick, more if there was a real soft spot. We found this worked fairly well! You do need to reapply every few years as the chickens pick out the sand

Uno, can totally relate to the coop built on sloped ground. I have two coops, one on a slope and one on flat ground. It's the difference between night and day. Flat ground makes a huge difference in Winter (no icy slope) and Spring (no slimy slope). Live and learn. We're building two more coops this year and I'll be sure to build both on flat ground (well.....my partner will).

Living on the side of a mountain...it's hard to avoid a slope - mine is semi-flat bordering on a slope that is heavily treed so we'll see how goopy it gets! It stays pretty dry through the winter and since this will be my first time with chickens it's a guessing game - I like the of the rubber matt's!

We have a good supply of sand in our area and dump a wheelbarrow load in each pen in the summer after a rain. Needless to say thanks to the large amount of rain we recieved last year there was a lot of shovelling.