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How Much #57 Stone for a 12x12 Chicken Run?

A 12 by 12 foot chicken run covers 144 square feet. At 3 inches of #57 stone, plan on 1.33 cubic yards, or about 1.8 tons, which answers how much #57 stone for a 12x12 chicken run.

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The math

  1. Area: 144.0 sq ft.
  2. Depth in feet: 3 ÷ 12 = 0.250 ft.
  3. Cubic yards: 144.0 × 0.250 ÷ 27 = 1.33 yd³.
  4. Tons: × about 1.35 tons per yard = 1.8 tons.

The crushed stone calculator does this for any size.

#57 stone needed by depth

DepthCubic yardsTons of #57 stoneTons +10%
2 in0.891.21.3
3 in1.331.82.0
4 in1.782.42.6
6 in2.673.64.0

Stone for a chicken run

Gravel in a run stops the ground from turning into a muddy, smelly mess. Washed stone of about 3/8 to 3/4 inch drains well; some keepers add sand or wood chips on top in part of the run for dust bathing.

Prep

Clear vegetation, rake the soil level and compact it. Lay fabric overlapped at the seams and set edging before spreading the stone.

Ordering and delivery

Small dump trucks commonly carry around 5 to 10 tons and tri-axles more, but loads vary by truck and state, so ask the yard what fits in one trip. #57 is a washed stone of roughly 1/2 to 1 inch with few fines; it drains fast but stays a little loose on its own. The scale ticket is the real weight; tons per yard here is a planning figure.

Measuring the area

Use a long tape and measure each side twice. If the ground slopes, measure depth at the high and low ends and average them. Irregular outlines can be broken into simple rectangles, triangles and circles; add the pieces for the total square footage before converting to tons.

Common mistakes

People often forget that compaction reduces volume, so they come up short. Others order clean, round stone where a packable crushed stone with fines would have stayed put. Finally, dumping the whole load in one pile far from the work area adds hours of wheelbarrow trips.

Questions people ask

How many tons of #57 stone for a 12x12 chicken run?

About 1.8 tons at 3 inches deep.

How many yards of #57 stone for a 12x12 chicken run?

About 1.33 cubic yards.

How many tons of #57 stone are in a cubic yard?

Roughly 1.35 tons for planning, but suppliers vary with stone size and moisture.

Do I need to compact it?

Yes for anything that carries weight. Compact in lifts of a few inches with a plate compactor.

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