PNW chicken owners and other rainy areas. Run muddy, some questions.

[silkiechicken]

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Talk about gravel disappearing, less than 10 years ago we had 4 dump truck loads of gravel spread in our drive way and turn around, and about half of it is now under grass or some how has magically disappeared. And this 4 truck loads was on top of a 4 truck loads from 20 years prior! And these are no F350 loads, no these truck loads are from those large double trailer truck monsters that you're afraid of driving next to on the freeway. I have no idea where the stuff goes... since the height of the ground didn't get any higher....

 

[TurtleChick]

gotta love the rain - we live on the green side of the mountains!

our coop/run lives under the evergreens in our back yard, so we couldn't do too much digging out when we made the peeps' run - too many tree roots. so we raked it as level as we could, added crushed rock (like it better than pea gravel, as it crushes down rather than rolls around) and then sand. that was last winter. this year we added a few bags of sand in preparation for the rainy season. their run is covered with the same clear plastic roofing that we used to cover our pergola (name of material escapes me right now....er.....). there are 3 supports to the roofing, and the middle one is set a couple of inches higher than the edges of the run so that water runs off the sides. it still gets wet when we have the glorious sideways rain like we've had the last few days, but it drains really well. and most of the time it stays pretty dry under there. i rake it when i need to, but the girls do a pretty good job of keeping it churned up (between scratching for black oil sunflower seeds and dust bathing!). couple of times a month i go out with the d.e. and a shovel and sprinkle the d.e. and chunk up shovels-full to turn it all over (they LOVE to "help" me do it...). no chicken-y smell, even right now with it all wet!

as for letting them out, i'd offer them the chance at some free range time - if they don't like it when it's wet, they won't go... but my girls don't seem to mind it all, the crazies. they dislike the wind more - scary leaves and branches blowing around!

here's a link to a recent post with pics of our coop and you can see their run cover a little bit: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=104364

good luck!!! stay warm and dry!

 

[namato8]

gravel will not dissapear if you put some of tha white woven stuff under it that drains. It would also keep your driveway material from dissapearing. It is stuff contractors use son't know what it is called though. I didn't want to use gravel as then they have no where to scratch and dust bathe obviously when it is dry. but maybe gravel where it is not tarped would be a good idea. I think I will try th leaves and see how that works first.

 

[AllisonK]

Thanks everyone! We are planning to get a bigger tarp this weekend so the small area that is not covered will quick dripping/pouring in. I will definately let them out tomorrow! I felt so bad keeping them in today but it was just pouring and I was not sure if it was good for them to get that wet.

 

[aiwetir]

don't worry about it, i left the door open all day and the came out only a few times when the rain let up.

 

[orbirdman]

they go in the coop at night. otherwise i have a nest box under the deck that gets laid in. other than that they free range all day. i feed em first thing in the morning then in the evening in the coop. you will continue to lose the gravel to the mud until you get a good dry spell and can lay down landscape fabric 6-8" below the run.

 

[silkiechicken]

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Hmm... wonder why the people we had re do it all not say anything about such devices!!!:| Sure be nice to not re rock a 300 foot drive way and 100x200 or so gravel lot in front of the house!!!

 

[patandchickens]

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Yeah, price that much road-grade geotextile and you'll know why they didn't mention it to you

(if you can find a source for scraps it can be cheaper)

I'd be extremely, extremely leery of using landscape fabric or geotextiles anywhere around chickens unless buried under a LOT, and I mean a LOT like a foot or more, of gravel. I doubt my chickens are unique, and they can dig an 8" dusting pit really easily and if they hit landcape fabric or geotextile they would scratch rips into it and then eat it, and it's not exactly a digestible substance.

BTW, gravel in gravel driveways disappears and has to be periodically redone EVERYwhere, not just the PNW. Also btw, for those thinking about putting sand orgravel in their run, you GOTS to put it on TOTALLY DRY ground or you are wasting your money (it will disappear quite swiftly when put on damp or muddy earth).

Pat

 

[AllisonK]

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Dry ground?

I don't even know what that is. I guess we will be waiting until July or August to do any gravel.

 

[TexasVet]

I'd think twice about putting straw down in the run.

I spread a couple of bales of hay in my run last year, "the wettest summer on record," just to give the girls a dry place to step. A couple of months later, it had all been covered with dirt by scratching hens and I forgot about it.

More months passed, and the run really started to stink. Guess what? All that hay had turned into a moldy, stinking mess about 4 inches underground. I had to dig it all out and then backfill with sand.

I won't make that mistake again!

Kathy