Chicken run flooring

[fisherprice]

Northeast. I have a dirt floor in my run. It gets really muddy in the rain. It gets mixed with the poop. Becomes really nasty when I have to put food down in the mud. What can I use that won't decompose and get muddy?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

True deep litter....it does compost, but the speed is such that you get a year, or more, between big clean outside (my current litter has been in the run nearly two years). It wicks moisture and functions like a forest floor controlling odor and mud

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

True deep litter

X2

 

[fisherprice]

True deep litter....it does compost, but the speed is such that you get a year, or more, between big clean outside (my current litter has been in the run nearly two years). It wicks moisture and functions like a forest floor controlling odor and mud

This is an outside run. 10' x 50'. Being exposed to rain snow. Won't that create problems for the litter?

 

[fisherprice]

X2

X2??

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

This is an outside run. 10' x 50'. Being exposed to rain snow. Won't that create problems for the litter?

No, that is exactly the sort of setting DLM works best.

X2??

Means ditto, agreed, etc

 

[jreardon1918]

We are working toward deep litter. Also in the northeast. Our run is covered. The floor is leaves, cut grass, yard clippings. Spent shavings from inside the coop. It is a nice environment no mud or smell. The uncovered part is similar just not as composted. Pictures taken today. It is about 32F.

 

[WindingRoad]

x2 Means that person "seconded" the previous poster.

 

[Relleoms]

Varying sizes of pine bark mulch have worked well for me. I don’t do deep liter, but I *think* the PBM would work as part of a deep litter program.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Part of the problem may that it gets wet and stays wet long enough for the microbes eating the poop in the run to go from aerobic to anaerobic. The same thing happens in a compost pile. You want the aerobic (oxygen breathing) microbes as they do a good job and don't stink. But if it gets too wet the aerobic die out and the anaerobic (don't breath oxygen) take over. These do not do as good a job in composting and they stink. I assume that's part of what you mean by nasty.

That's a good size run but my guess is that it doesn't drain very well. As long as it doesn't drain it will stink when wet. The wet can harbor diseases too, coccidiosis thrives in wet manure-laden soil or bedding. I'll include a link to an article that talks about your problem. I don't know enough details about your situation to get specific but this might give you some ideas.

Pat’s Big Ol' Mud Page (fixing muddy runs):

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-fix-a-muddy-run-chicken-coop.47807/

When someone in here talks about where do I put a coop or run, my first criteria is where the water drains away from it. If water drains to it or stands you will see problems like yours. I'm guessing you are past that point. When the weather sets in wet any dirt run will probably get muddy.

There are two basic ideas in dealing with it. First, keep water out to start with. Covering it with a roof will keep some out but rain and snow will blow in from the sides. Slope any roof (coop or run) so water does not run into the run or use gutters and downspouts to keep it out of the run. Berms and swales might keep groundwater from running into the run. What you can do will depend on your conditions. If the problem is a leaking waterer, fix it. That's more for coops than runs and not your issue.

Second get the water out once it gets in. Some of these are mainly for coops but might give you some ideas. Good ventilation can help it dry out. Spreading a treat like corn or BOSS on bedding can get the chickens to scratch enough to turn the bedding so it dries out faster. But for a big run like you have I think your main solution is to give the water some place to drain to.

I'm guessing your soil is more clay than sand. Clay does not drain worth a darn and the chickens usually dig holes for dust baths that hold water. I don't know what your terrain looks like. If there are lower places around a French drain of some type might help a lot. My coop floor is a clayey dirt. When I built it I hauled in enough clayey dirt to raised it a few inches above the area around it. It stays dry.

In her article Pat talks about using sand. If you put sand in a hole you really haven't helped drainage. All you have done is create a bathtub and put some sand in it. The water isn't going anywhere. You may need to put enough dirt in there so it can drain. adding sand on top of that can help keep the surface a lot drier.

To me, fixing it so it drains is probably your best long term solution but that may have to wait until drier weather. In the short term you can put down things for you and them to walk on like pallets or lumber. Straw, hay, or wood chips can help a lot but you may eventually have to shovel that out. Maybe not. Each situation is unique. I feel for you, a wet muddy run is a pain to deal with.

If by nasty you mean it is just muddy and not stinking, then using pallets, lumber, or some bedding to walk on is your best bet. When the weather sets in wet for a spell my run gets pretty muddy, no fun to walk in. I dumped pea gravel I had left over from another project just outside the human door from the coop into the run for temporary relief but it soon disappeared into the mud. I use pavers and lumber to give me places to walk on the chickens a pace to get their feet dry.