Flooded Run help???

[AN]

It has been raining and raining.....5 inches in less two days ....well the run is flooded....any sugestions on what to do. I let the girls out during the day and just lock them up at night...but i would like to have ONE dry area for their feet. FYI the whole yard has 1-3 inches in it. I am so FRUSTRATED right now. My poor girls.....they went out and pecked around when it was just sprinkiling. SO NOW THEY ARE WET WET.......grrrrr. FYI the rain runs in the bottem, as the top is closed.
Here is a pic of the coop

 

[KDbeads]

4.5" of rain here in Mason so far as well, hoping it's not going to be as heavy tonight and tomorrow morning like they think it will be.
Mine LIKE the rain apparently

I got a 5 gallon bucket of sand and spread it in the run to help with drainage and to keep them from wading in puddles of poo. Other than that I'm waiting this out and redoing a few things inside the drenched, not fully water proof, coop!

but on the bright side.... WE GOT RAIN

I almost forgot what it looked like

 

[anngili]

I just stuck a small dog crate inside with pine shavings in the crate. Should have put some on top, too, because they take turns going inside or perching on the crate. The raised lip keeps water from flowing in, the pine shavings soak up any water that does come inside, and you can also put it on bricks if the water gets too high. FYI, I did take the door off so it's not in their way.

 

[LynneP]

I'd make a permanent platform for that area under the coop- something with stubby legs that is sheltered. They'll love that...

Once or twice a year you can scrape it clean.

 

[2txmedics]

I have the same problem!!! My coop I made so that my babies could go UNDER the coop from the hot sun...so what do they do when it rains....THEY GO UNDER THE COOP......AND I FLOOD!!!! I do have sand in my run...Ive put up roost all over which they use on very nice days....but when rain comes they dont like to get wet so under the coop they go.

Which means when it floods, and I mean about a ruler stick high, which would be about 12"....Im laying in my rain gear trying to stay dry, only to have to lay down and go swimming after my babies so they dont drown!!!! and its deep under my coop area, 2-3" deep....you should have seen us one day...soaking wet and swimming laying on the ground trying to catch them as they fought and floated, etc...

so now, when It rains heavy, I go and I try to block the bottom of the coop, of course DH works alot and we havent made anything to use, so I put boards, and chicken wire, IN DOWN POUR MY BABIES WILL STAND UP AGAINST THE COOP AND

NOT GO INTO THE COOP AWAY FROM THE RAIN!!!!!! Why do they do this?? They wont even use the roost...

ANY IDEAS ANYONE?? heres my coop and what it looks like where they go under:

the little side mini coop is gone...wish you could see a better picture of my main coop

 

[chickenlittle32]

Part of my run is starting to flood as well. Especially with all this rain we have been having. I have bought a few bags of sand to put down because of all the mud. It helps some...but I definitely need to get more LOL Its only in the front of the run...the back is full of grass. Oh and the smell is awful

 

[PortageGirl]

No idea why they don't go in, maybe it's too dark for them? Mine go inside even though it's not -super- light inside, there is one window in the pen area, another two in the storage/brooder/work area. Still, in a storm, it's not very light.

I did/do go out if it looks stormy and give them some fun treats they love to get them inside, so mayb that's how mine got the idea it was the place to go. (right now the 'in' treat is a cob or two of sweet corn)

Maybe some boards or bricks they can stand on will give them a place to walk if it's real soupy... but as long as it dries out fairly well within a day or so, some mud won't kill em IMO. (unless it sits for too long, that's bad for em - - again all this is must my opinion!)

 

[KDbeads]

We are without the rain for this morning, once it dries out a little more I have to go and scoop out the muck. It really does stink in there! We decided, since hubby has unlimited access to waste sand, that we are going to scoop out the top layer of dirt and replace with sand in the run. In the coop we are thinking about surrounding the base area with cinder blocks, setting the coop on top and filling with sand to prevent this from happening again.

 

[Soccer Mom]

We are STILL raining (also south of DFW) and I have the opposite problem with my geese. They won't stay OUT of the coop during the day and have gone in and out so many times that the inside of my coop has become a soggy, muddy mess.

That's gonna be fun to clean. I just threw some fresh shavings on the top at bedtime last night. I don't want to shut them out so they can get out of the worst of the weath but ......blech.

I've been meaning to add a couple fresh yards of sand to the run. Now I wish I had.

 

[2txmedics]

You know I started to do, I see the bad storms coming, and I would run out and through feed or yummies into the coop for them to all go in, and then close the door,...then what happens..few storms its over, and I would go out and let them out, my Roo got mad and started jumping at me..now he does that since then...so I have to pop him gently to make sure he knows he is not ALPHA...

but not all my chickens would go in..one or two stayed out...

so you think its that its dark?...when it storms and they know its day light so they want to stay out? never thought of that one. and yes, the STINK

BUT only when it storms and rains...when dry it doesnt smell....so how do I get rid of that...right now Im water blogged...so it stinks bad!!! I did put a few milk crates out there for them to stand on....

Ma says chickens are just dumb...????