Chicken run ground

[Serena Morgan]

Hey everyone, my chicken run gets very boggy and muddy and gross during rainier times of year. Currently the ground of my chicken run is just soil/mud. I don’t know about anybody else’s chickens but my 2 hens poop A LOT so I’m looking for a bedding I that can withstand their poo and that I don’t have to clean so often. My chickens also dig at the mud and it becomes not level, with holes around the sides and hills and lumps in some parts. I think gritty/large particle sand would be good (I am from the uk so if anybody knows what sand in particular and where from - would be great) but have heard horror stories of chickens eating the sand, flicking the sand out of the coop and poop piling up as it doesn’t break down in the sand. So any suggestion is appreciated or anyone who has very much success in their chicken run ground

 

[jreardon1918]

Please describe your coop and run. Also, your general location.

We are in SE Mass. We have a covered run. We place yard waste (leaves, grass, weeds), plus semi annual pine shavings from the coop. The run is deep bedding. We never have to clean it. We do remove compost to add to the gardens.

 

[Serena Morgan]

You will probably be unfamiliar but we live in Wales; so quite rainy. The coop is medium size with a small run as they free roam the garden everyday and I only have 2. The run is just mesh wire covered so I cover it with tar polling but in harsher conditions this seams not to be enough as rain always seems to get it. My main issue is the chicken poo! Because the run is smaller it seems to be a lot more poo. Your run looks great as I’m looking to have to clean it out rarely.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

The first thing to do about a muddy run is to evaluate the drainage:

Does water run across the ground into/through the run?

Does water pool in the run because it's a low spot?

Do the gutters from nearby structures drain into the run?

In the first case, you can dig diversion ditches or put in a French drain to divert the water away from the coop.

In the third case, you can extend the gutters to direct water away from the coop.

But in the second case, where the chickens are in a low spot, the only possible fixes are to either move the chickens or to have the land re-graded and fill brought in to raise the level. It's usually easier to move the chickens.

I like using Deep Litter in my run -- plenty of dry organic material to absorb water and create a composting reaction that neutralizes the poop.

Coarse wood chips, the sort you get from a tree trimming service, are often thought of as the gold standard for a muddy run problem but generous amounts of whatever dry organic material is locally available will work if you take precautions against it packing and matting.

 

[Serena Morgan]

Thanks for your help I think I’m going to try the deep litter method and/or wood chips

 

[aart]

The coop is medium size with a small run as they free roam the garden everyday and I only have 2. The run is just mesh wire covered so I cover it with tar polling but in harsher conditions this seams not to be enough as rain always seems to get it.

Pics would really help here.
Look at how the water is getting into run area,
might need to dig some trenches to guide it away from run.

Coarse wood chippings work well here.

we live in Wales

Welcome to BYC! @Serena Morgan
Here's how to add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[ApplePi]

Super glad I found this thread! I am having the same problem, and I think the course chips or adding additional layers to the ground will be helpful. We are building a 20 x 30 ft chicken and duck run, and we need a sustainable way keep the ground less muddy and gross.