Chicken coop is very muddy! help please UPDATE

[EggresiveAli]

I'm from Scotland aswell and the rain just means slugs!

 

[Xtineart]

oh they love the slugs! I think if they could only eat slugs and spiders everyday they'd be happy, happy hens.

 

[EggresiveAli]

Yep mine pretty much do with the rain

 

[Bd09cool]

Just put lots of hay in the floor

 

[CollegeChicken]

sorry to burst many bubbles here but chickens and ducks shouldnt live together unless theyre free range.Duck stools are the consistency of muddy water and they excrete three times more waste per day than a standard hen (and that is a fact! it can easily be googled if anyone here has a doubt ) I would not force my chickens to live with that.... They both have feathers. They both waddle around , but they have different environmental needs. Chickens need to stay DRY DRY DRY, and that includes their coop and run. Pea Gravel drains very well. If mud is a serious concern and youre really serious about this hobby invest in a truck load of pea gravel and fill your pen with it.

 

[lilyeti]

I've found that Sweet PDZ sprinkled all over the muddy areas in the coop really helps eliminate the stink and absorb some of the extra water. More info on their page: http://www.sweetpdz.com/faqs.html

It's also non-toxic, whereas some kinds of Lime are not.

 

[gmachicken]

Do you put pine shavings over it? (the pea gravel)
I have a dirt floor and when it rains as it is doing now in So Oregon The edges get wet and the bedding goes bad.
Maybe this is my answer around the edges.
Thanks for the idea.

 

[Xtineart]

still haven't been able to find anything liek sweet pdz in Scotland, but have recently changed to using a thick layer of wood bark chips (the type you get in kids playgrounds) in their run, it doesn't seem to hold water the same as sand and gravel used to and they seem to like kicking about in it too but the bits are big enough that they dont kick them all through the chicken wire like they did with the gravel. And as a bonus the slugs have gone.

 

[SirBroderick]

Sweet PDZ is also called Zeolite.
It is used in cat litter and added to potting mix in nurseries - as a water holding filler.
I am in Australia and I couldn't find sweet pdz anywhere until I finally managed to find a source of zeolite at a commercial nursery who was happy to sell me a few bags of it either granulated or powdered.
He buys it by the pallet load.

 

[TrueBlueKYGirl]

I live in Kentucky and my run is fairly wet, luckily my girls let me clean their feet and seem to enjoy it. I picked up the last two bags of Sweet PDZ with in 2 counties and plan to pick up some sand today. I have a few pallets I am going to put down then then the Sweet PDZ and sand. I need to figure out a better roof to help keep the rain and snow out, but I worry about the weight. Wishing everyone luck keeping their girls, warm, dry and happy as winter seems to be lurking......