Best bedding for wet muddy run

[Farmgirl1878]

I know folks are saying that you shouldn’t use sand if you live in a wet, humid area, but I’m in way-Southern Ohio where it’s rainy and always humid and have no problems. My run, however, is fully roofed over. We built up the run by removing some of the clay soil and using 2x12” boards for the sides. The sand is at least ten inches deep in most spots and stays dry. Don’t use the construction or play sand as it is too fine and way too dusty.

You should call around to you local quarries to see if they have natural, washed, river sand and can deliver. Our local quarry delivered a dump truck load (about 12 tons) for $90 plus the cost for the sand. The coop is 8’x12’ and the run is 8’ by about 16’, so a truckload was just right, plus some sand for outside the coop and run.

The whole flock dustbathes in the coop and/or the run almost every day and they never get bored with digging and scratching in the sand. Added bonus - no need for grit!

Natural, coarse river sand

• Farmgirl1878
• Jul 15, 2018

 

[stupiedshannon99]

Here is what I have used in my open run that gets nasty wet. I tried straw, it helped at first but it didnt dry anything out, didnt break down and molded underneith. I tried sand, playsand mixed with contractor sand, it just stayed wet, less mud but too sticky for the chickens. I tried wood chips, this also held the moisture and gave MULTIPLE girls bumble foot. I am guessing from the continued moisture and sharp edges of the wood. I am currently using alfalfa, its alot like $10-$11 a bale. But it breaks down, no mold, the chickens scratch it up and since the hay breaks down it has made a good serving of earth worms. I am trying it on my ducks pen too. My only concern so far is their dust bathing area I dont put hay so its wet muddy yuck right now.

 

[aart]

I tried wood chips, this also held the moisture and gave MULTIPLE girls bumble foot. I am guessing from the continued moisture and sharp edges of the wood.

Well, it's actually the bacteria present that creates infection in the wounds on the feet.

 

[Grits&Eggs]

I got a "chip drop" and filled the run with mulch and leaves - raising it a good foot and it has been awesome, rain rolls right out and away, and since I have the run surrounded by plants it has been an easy way to keep them watered, love it. Am in Florida, so we are always humid and during the rainy season it has been a godsend.

 

[BarnDoorClosed]

I personally use pine shavings from tractor supply. I find the bigger flake ones work best for me in the coop. It keeps the ground from being a sloppy mess and absorbs decent. I add a new bag full once a week. I also have 2 adult pekin ducks who are poop machines!! The pine shavings are a life saver!. I add bags for a few months and when it gets pretty deep I rake it out and put it in my horse pasture in muddy spots where the horses work it into the ground for me! The finer pine shavings I use where my girls roost at night. None of my birds Will roost on poles they prefer to lay ontop of hay bales I line the lot with, so I built a wood boarder around them, kinda like a litter box, and I use the fine shavings there and rake the poop off the top and add more once a week. Works great for us! And pine shavings are relatively cheap, $5 per bag.

 

[Sequel]

Yea very good point... I do compost a lot... or dump the kitchen compost bucket by the garden, usually gone by morning, those damn ground squirrels will eat anything.

I need to get the wife one of those Japanese toilets with the butt spray.. she's the baby wipe culprit... TBH, I barely wipe hurts my back ... j/k

Check out the bidets on Amazon! They have toilet seats with bidet built in, they start at like $29.95 and go up to $700. Even the most expensive would pay for itself with saving your drainfield getting dug up, not to mention you wouldn't have to buy the wipes!

 

[TONY B.]

you may need to find a landscaping co. and ask for fine crushed lime stone that may be better than the sand for the chicks.
i have the same problem in N. Ca. we get heavy rain in winter for days sometime. I'm going to try the wood mulch . What about the smell? That is what i want to control.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'm going to try the wood mulch . What about the smell? That is what i want to control.

I have no issue with smell with the deep litter. If you do have an existing muck problem, the smell won't go away immediately but as the litter and mud start mingling and the soil beneath improves, it should gradually get less stinky.

 

[jreardon1918]

Wood chips, leaves, un fertilized head clippings, yard waste workers for our covered run and uncovered extended run. We also throw the poops scooped from the poop boards and the semi annual pine shavings clean out. Low maintenance works great.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

The floor of my run is currently dirt mixed with straw that the chickens are always kicking out of the coop. We live in a humid climate that gets lots of rain. A majority of the year it is wet/ muddy and mixed with the poop it’s just terrible. I rake everything out twice a week (as long as the weather permits). I wanted to switch to sand but have heard mixed reviews. I’d also have to buy bagged sand from an home improvement store (no truck to buy bulk) and I don’t think places such as Home Depot sell the correct kind of sand for chickens. Any other ideas of what I could use?

I have sand and I love it! I buy my sand from Home Depot, it is construction sand. It is carried in the building area. Do you have a roof over your run? I put that corrugated plastic roofing over my run and it keeps it dry even when it is raining.