Advice needed, chicken run floor.

[LittleGecko]

Hi all, after losing four ducks to predators we put up new fencing along the path side of the garden (the vulnerable side) and a new lockable gate into the area. As we had already built new housing (also predator proof) we decided to sort out the floor and the long standing drainage problem. The ground was slabbed as having a mixed flock of ducks and chickens combined with a lack of drainage had destroyed the grass. The slabs were okay in a way as they could be hosed down, but they were bad for the birds feet and we had a few problems with the heavier chickens injuring their feet jumping down from the roof of the coop and off the coal bunker. So we pulled up the slabs, installed drainage and I shifted a couple of ton of soil by hand to slope the ground to facilitate the drainage further. Now the question! I have been thinking of water permeable membrane over the soil with a thick layer of sand on top (2 or 3 tons). Great for dust bathing, poop scooping and easy to disinfect. But will we need a concrete slab for the coop to stand on? Will the coop sink without it? Is sand the best option? My poor guys are on dirt at the moment which turns to mud in the rain blocking up the drainage and winter is coming. I can't put the membrane down which will keep the drainage clear until we know what goes on top. The garden is shady on one side and open on the other and the flock is on all of it (except the path) as the garden isn't particularly big so we are trying to keep costs down. Can anyone advise me? What do you use and how is it working out? Thank you all lots.

 

[Rickba]

I just put a good layer of hay down and rake it up when it's at the end of it's life (about every week or 2) depending on how much rain we get. Then I put down a new layer of fresh straw. Takes care of the mud issue, soft for the chickens to walk on, smells good and they love to eat the seeds off the tops of the hey. I use this for the floor of my coops also. 1 or 2 bales a weeks does it at about 2$ a bail. The old hay I burn off in a burn barrel.

 

[Molpet]

umm I would think the birds would dig down and tear up the membrane.
I use deep litter and clean it out 1 or 2x a year.

 

[Folly's place]

Deep litter over dirt is great, as long as drainage issues are fixed. Ducks tend to make a mess with water, and often having them separately housed away from the chickens is best.
The membrane will likely complicate your base, and won't make things better.
Please post some pictures so we can all see what's going on.
Mary

 

[Rickba]

You don't put down a membrane. Here's a pic. It rained here all night and the run was muddy. I spread out a bale of hay. The hay dries out the mud and the sun dries out the shay. The chickens love to eat the seeds off the tops of the hay, it's like a treat. When the dirt dries out the chickens take a dirt bath, that's how they control external parasites. I put DE on the dirt to help with the parasites. It also helps keeps the chickens from tracking mud into the coops. A bale of hay cost about a buck and a half.

 

[LittleGecko]

That does look nice for the birds. How long will it last and is it okay if it rains again? (we get a lot of rain here)

 

[Rickba]

Here when it's really wet it last a week then I change it and burn off the old stuff in a burn barrel. During the dry season it last a couple weeks (3 or 4). When it full of poop I rake it up and change it and burn off the old stuff. The run stays smelling nice. You don't get that wet poop smell all the time. That's when you know it's time to change it.