Adding soil to my run

[slaychul]

Hey All,
I live in the PNW and, well it rains a lot! We have a clay based soil up here and I was wondering what to add to make my run less crater-esq (the girls have dug a lot of pot holes). I bought a very specific top soil from the brand EB Stone, it only has sandy loam, mushroom compost and redwood compost in it. I am just worried about the sandy loam mostly. The run is usually covered in the sunny times. Sorry for the super specific post, any PNW/ Northern Cal gardeners may know this brand ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If that isnt good, what do y'all suggest for a good option for a run that is a mix of things? I would love to do a sand run but if I ever move, leaving all that sand seems crazy!
Thanks!!

 

[davemonkey]

If the chickens are kept in the run most (or all) of the time, they are going to try to find spots to dust-bathe (possible source of your craters). Adding a sandier/easier-to-fluff soil will encourage that...but it's a good thing (they NEED to dust bathe).

But, you mentioned the rain. Is your concern just the existence of holes in the ground, or that they are full of water (since the soil is clayey)? If it's the water puddles that are the concern, then building up the run with sandier/loamier soil can help by raising the soil surface to a water-shedding position; and the craters will technically be occurring in a better drained profile of you new soil surface, which technically would not hold water [as well].

 

[fowltemptress]

Wood chips! A nice thick layer keeps things dry and the poop mixing into the wood makes for the perfect compost ratio. Dump a metric ton of wood chips into your run, then buy a small kiddy pool, place it where rain can't get at it, and fill it with sand or something so your chickens have a place they can dust bathe easily without trying to dig down to the earth through your thick layer of wood chips.

 

[Tahai]

I also have clay soil. I don't have rain like you do, but the spring and fall are pretty muddy. I use straw (and other random brown organics) and the deep litter method. Eventually, you will end up with a nice loam as the chickens scratch it all in. Sand in clay soil is pretty much worthless, and can make things worse if too much is added. (clay, sand, and straw is how bricks used to be made)