constant damp run. Need help.

[meeshegg]

Your coop is so cute...!!
Did you make it yourself?

I maintain my opinion : I would put plastic gratings on the floor of the run, so the chickens can keep their feet dry.
...Plastic gratings are also easy to clean if needed, so...



...I would not put the coop/run direclty on the grass : it would really not ideal, since @meeshegg seemingly lives in a rainy area...(?)

Besides, a concrete floor makes a great protection from some predators; so, giving it up would be a shame, especially since that could eventually put the chickens in danger...

My partner built it for me.
I think I may try your idea of the plastic risers will have to see where I can find some. xx

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've removed the sand and put down aubiose

That is hemp bedding. I was not familiar with that product.

the run isn't big, 5 foot by 10 foot

Thanks for the photos. Your coop is elevated so you are only concerned with the run.

It looks like the rainwater drains to the run, not away from it. You are on a concrete slab so water will stand, not soak into the ground. For it to stay dry you need a place for the water to run to. That concrete slab is lower than the land around it so it will collect water.

You have two ways to have a dry run. One is to stop water from getting into it. You can put up tarps or solid sides to keep rainwater from blowing in but if it is below ground level rainwater will run into it. The other way is once water gets in you have to get it out. That means you need a lower place for water to drain to and the bedding needs to allow water to drain away, not absorb it and hold on to it.

I don't know what your terrain looks like around it. Can you use berms and swales to divert surface water away? Maybe drainage ditches to intercept the water and carry it to a lower spot? If you don't have a lower spot around it to divert water to you have a challenge.

Another option may be to build that area up so water does not run to it or it drains when it gets wet. My coop is on the ground. I put a berm and swale on the uphill side to carry water away. I also put in a few inches of an impervious clay soil in my coop to get it above the surrounding area. That has worked really well for mine, the coop stays very dry. I'm not sure that would work that well for you since you are on a concrete slab below the surrounding ground.

I wish you good luck. I don't see any easy solutions.

 

[meeshegg]

That is hemp bedding. I was not familiar with that product.


Thanks for the photos. Your coop is elevated so you are only concerned with the run.

It looks like the rainwater drains to the run, not away from it. You are on a concrete slab so water will stand, not soak into the ground. For it to stay dry you need a place for the water to run to. That concrete slab is lower than the land around it so it will collect water.

You have two ways to have a dry run. One is to stop water from getting into it. You can put up tarps or solid sides to keep rainwater from blowing in but if it is below ground level rainwater will run into it. The other way is once water gets in you have to get it out. That means you need a lower place for water to drain to and the bedding needs to allow water to drain away, not absorb it and hold on to it.

I don't know what your terrain looks like around it. Can you use berms and swales to divert surface water away? Maybe drainage ditches to intercept the water and carry it to a lower spot? If you don't have a lower spot around it to divert water to you have a challenge.

Another option may be to build that area up so water does not run to it or it drains when it gets wet. My coop is on the ground. I put a berm and swale on the uphill side to carry water away. I also put in a few inches of an impervious clay soil in my coop to get it above the surrounding area. That has worked really well for mine, the coop stays very dry. I'm not sure that would work that well for you since you are on a concrete slab below the surrounding ground.

I wish you good luck. I don't see any easy solutions.

I have drainage that runs to the drain along both sides of the patio slab

 

[Ridgerunner]

Then how is water getting in?

 

[Papaye]

My partner built it for me.

Congrats to your partner : that's really good work!
And there are even so small details, such as the letter box...!!

I think I may try your idea of the plastic risers will have to see where I can find some. xx

I am using the ones I had bought from La Ferme de Beaumont, but otherwise, I don't know if plastic gratings sold elsewhere are good quality...?

Hmmm...
You could just buy composite decking tiles : they work too.

Actually, I am also using these "composite decking tiles" in my runs, since plastic gratings are really not cheap and I could not buy enough of them to cover all the ground...!

For the record : I live in Auvergne, in an area where it is almost always raining... and since all of my runs are put directly on the ground and there are no grass (in) there anymore, I have to use gratings/tiles so my chickens AND my ducks can keep their feet dry.
(...I am happy with my choices, so I recommend them...)

 

[meeshegg]

Then how is water getting in?

when it rains it really rains and the ground water covers the ground entirely it's still gets wet as the rain water runs through and the bedding directly above the ground thus gets wet. it's not wet as in pooling tho
My concern mostly was if the damp bedding would be a cause for concern health wise.

 

[SamLockwood]

when it rains it really rains and the ground water covers the ground entirely it's still gets wet as the rain water runs through and the bedding directly above the ground thus gets wet. it's not wet as in pooling tho
My concern mostly was if the damp bedding would be a cause for concern health wise.

Your concerns are valid. Wet droppings tend to release ammonia, which can cause respiratory problems for both you and the birds and can even cause mild chemical burns to their feet if the concentration gets high enough. The condition is called "scald."

One of the problems with concrete is it can act as a moisture trap if the surrounding ground gets damp enough. I've got similar weather in Georgia: in the srping and fall the rains are often torrential and last for days. The ground here is mostly clay and gets completely soaked in the rain. When it dries out it's packed like concrete and actually cracks.

I struggled for over a year getting a run set-up that didn't turn into a reeking soup in a month or two. My run is on a slight incline and one of the problems was water piling up on the side, soaking the lower frame of the run and the bedding.

I ended up jacking up the run and slipping concrete pavers underneath, with some slight gaps along the sloped sides of the run. In those gaps I put some PVC piping to let the water drain across when the rains came.

Inside the run I put a layer of gravel to act give some "air gap" between the ground and the bedding and further facilitate cross -drainage.

I use "pine bark nuggets" which are largi-sh wood chips made from pine tree bark. The bigger chunks are less prone to staying water-logged than wood shavings. The wood chips are an average of 3" deep.

So far it's worked pretty well: the smell is minimal, and the birds have learned they can find bugs and the occasional earth-worm in the deeper, so they regularly dig through them and turn them. And I just top off with fresh wood chips every month or so.

The smell is minimal and the setup stays dry except in the heaviest of rains, at which point it just gets merely damp, particularly near the "upslope" edge.

 

[meeshegg]

Your concerns are valid. Wet droppings tend to release ammonia, which can cause respiratory problems for both you and the birds and can even cause mild chemical burns to their feet if the concentration gets high enough. The condition is called "scald."

One of the problems with concrete is it can act as a moisture trap if the surrounding ground gets damp enough. I've got similar weather in Georgia: in the srping and fall the rains are often torrential and last for days. The ground here is mostly clay and gets completely soaked in the rain. When it dries out it's packed like concrete and actually cracks.

I struggled for over a year getting a run set-up that didn't turn into a reeking soup in a month or two. My run is on a slight incline and one of the problems was water piling up on the side, soaking the lower frame of the run and the bedding.

I ended up jacking up the run and slipping concrete pavers underneath, with some slight gaps along the sloped sides of the run. In those gaps I put some PVC piping to let the water drain across when the rains came.

Inside the run I put a layer of gravel to act give some "air gap" between the ground and the bedding and further facilitate cross -drainage.

I use "pine bark nuggets" which are largi-sh wood chips made from pine tree bark. The bigger chunks are less prone to staying water-logged than wood shavings. The wood chips are an average of 3" deep.

So far it's worked pretty well: the smell is minimal, and the birds have learned they can find bugs and the occasional earth-worm in the deeper, so they regularly dig through them and turn them. And I just top off with fresh wood chips every month or so.

The smell is minimal and the setup stays dry except in the heaviest of rains, at which point it just gets merely damp, particularly near the "upslope" edge.

It's by no means waterlogged. Do you deep litter? I'm now wondering if the damp conditions could be used to my advantage.

 

[meeshegg]

I can confirm that the deep litter method is working. I have not poo picked at all, just added more hemp/leaves as needed and let the chickens do their stuff. I turn it with a rake occasionally.
It is now still slightly damp, and in a composting state.
We are currently in a cold snap where everything including soil is frozen solid but the litter is still in its normal form due to I'm guessing the heat that it is emitting

 

[RoyalChick]

I can confirm that the deep litter method is working. I have not poo picked at all, just added more hemp/leaves as needed and let the chickens do their stuff. I turn it with a rake occasionally.
It is now still slightly damp, and in a composting state.
We are currently in a cold snap where everything including soil is frozen solid but the litter is still in its normal form due to I'm guessing the heat that it is emitting

So glad it is working. I only just found your thread and was going to suggest you do that. I have a covered run and one part of it gets damp from water flowing in. I have learned to love that area as everything composts really well.