Chicken walking in water

[Mihan]

I live in central/ northern Wisconsin and it has been quite warm the past three or four days. The snow on my roof finally fell off by itself, which I'm very happy about, but at the same time all the snow on the roof of the chicken coop run also melted and made a giant puddle. I scooped out most of the water and placed some straw on top. Was that a good idea? I did a Google search afterwards and Google seems to think it's worse than letting the chicken walk around in a puddle that is knee deep for them and drink from it.

The coop is dry btw. I thought about keeping them inside until the water goes away but it's surprisingly dark inside.

 

[jwcarlson]

You did what I would do in your situation. There are also those pine betting pellets that absorb a lot of water that might be an option. But the hay should work fine. I wouldn't lock them inside just because there's a bit of water there.
Over the years I've moved to runs that are covered and then I wrap them with plastic in the winter. Mostly to keep the snow out and to keep the run dry. Plus you get a little warmth in there during the day and keep the wind off of them too.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I would get some big wood chips like they sell for landscaping. That’s what I did in my old run to build it up so there was less standing water