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How Much Pea Gravel for a 10x20 Chicken Run?

A 10 by 20 foot chicken run covers 200 square feet. At 3 inches of pea gravel, plan on 1.85 cubic yards, or about 2.6 tons, which answers how much pea gravel for a 10x20 chicken run.

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The math

  1. Area: 200.0 sq ft.
  2. Depth in feet: 3 ÷ 12 = 0.250 ft.
  3. Cubic yards: 200.0 × 0.250 ÷ 27 = 1.85 yd³.
  4. Tons: × about 1.4 tons per yard = 2.6 tons.

The gravel calculator does this for any size.

Pea gravel needed by depth

DepthCubic yardsTons of pea gravelTons +10%
2 in1.231.71.9
3 in1.852.62.9
4 in2.473.53.8
6 in3.705.25.7

Chicken Run tips

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

Remove sod and roots, level the area and slope it slightly for drainage. Install edging so the stone stays inside the footprint.

Getting it delivered

If you haul it yourself, a typical half-ton pickup should carry only about half a cubic yard of stone, well under what the bed looks like it can hold. Pea gravel is small and rounded, comfortable underfoot, and needs edging because it rolls. Ask your supplier for their own tons-per-yard number, since stone source and moisture change it.

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 pea gravel for a 10x20 chicken run?

About 2.6 tons at 3 inches deep.

How many yards of pea gravel for a 10x20 chicken run?

About 1.85 cubic yards.

How many tons of pea gravel are in a cubic yard?

Roughly 1.4 tons for planning, but suppliers vary with stone size and moisture.

Should I put landscape fabric under the stone?

On soft or clay soil, a woven geotextile keeps stone from sinking into the dirt and makes the layer last longer.

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