Building a better run from scratch

[aart]

View attachment 1684164
So a picture might help since I just got the lumber for the coop today. Area I'm thinning about is roughly between the pitchfork and shovel. Maybe a little further left.

Hard to see in the picture, but the ground slopes both right to left and front to back towards the creek. I'm thinking of putting the coop itself on the right side, which is admittedly wetter, but let's me have more of the run on the higher dryer spots.

I'm going to tilt all the roofs towards the creek since it already slope that way, it should help keep the majority of falling water out of the direct area.

Unless you have a high water table all over, digging trenches after building might work since there is lower ground nearby(the creek) to drain into.

 

[123RedBeard]

If you own the woods ... I'd put it out there ...

Where is the creek?

 

[aart]

Guessing creek is green line?
What is depression(trench?) at red line?

 

[RevRico]

If you own the woods ... I'd put it out there ...

Where is the creek?

Between the grass and those woods. That's a weird part of the property. It's technically mine, but the neighbors driveway cuts through it. It is also very steep and hard to walk through, and I'm admittedly lazy.

@aart that's the big issue is the water table. When we had the well put in, we hit water at about 30 feet and went down to 125. Since I moved back here from California in 2014, we haven't had a stretch of time long enough to dry the ground out. I've seriously considered a second well whose existence would be strictly pumping water out of the ground and into the stream just to try to lower the water table.

The last 5 years in a row we've set records for rainfall and being in a valley, this has been Hell on me. I get the tractor stuck every time we mow, I've buried several vehicle up to the frame rails hauling stuff to the burn pile or across the property. There's a low spot further down the driveway I've decided to just turn into a lake since it fills up with water every time it rains anyway.

Over the years we've installed several French drains all around the land. They work about a year before the gravel sinks away from the pipe and the pipes clog. If my shed wasn't hanging half over the creek these days it would be my easy button, but erosion has made it dangerous to be inside.

Yes, creek is the green line. The depression at the red line is from my heating pellet delivery last a week when the guy turned his dump truck around.

 

[aart]

@aart that's the big issue is the water table. ..... I've seriously considered a second well whose existence would be strictly pumping water out of the ground and into the stream just to try to lower the water table.

That's a bummer...not sure a second well pump would work, just waste of electricity ...creek looks not much lower than ground.

 

[RevRico]

It's not. Varies going across the property from 12-24 inches lower than the grass.

I can't find a good terrain map, but I was able to fumble this together.

This picture is a couple years old, thanks Google, but the white box is about where the run will go. The blue circle is where I'm thinking pond. With the coop being on the end closer to the car port so I can run an extension cord in the winter or for fans.

Digging trenches afterwards might help. I'm not against it, especially if any of my better off neighbors can be bribed to bring their backhoes over.

I'd probably be better off with ducks, but I want to try my hand at chickens.

 

[aart]

Digging trenches afterwards might help. I'm not against it, especially if any of my better off neighbors can be bribed to bring their backhoes over.

Sure would be interesting to see if it works/helps.