Flooding in chicken run

[Lazy Farmer]

We are in WV

You are wet too..... I feel for you...

 

[coach723]

We are in WV

A couple of thoughts to throw out there..... Is all of your moisture problem from the rain itself or are you also getting runoff from the roof of your house? If that is the case then relocating away from the house may be best. Or redirecting that runoff away from your coop. Roof runoff can equate to a lot of water. I think enlarging your run would be a really good idea. If you can make it large enough so that the grass is not completely scratched up then the ground cover will help with the moisture also. And if you can cover/roof part of your run then that would redirect some of that moisture away also. I have two runs one is covered and one is not. The covered run stays dry enough to use the deep litter method, it only gets wet when the rain blows sideways. My open run is pretty large and with the exception of their dust bathing areas and right around the door in and out, stays covered in grass so it works well and stays pretty dry overall. Good luck! I've learned that having chickens means constantly modifying something!

 

[Varrington]

A couple of thoughts to throw out there..... Is all of your moisture problem from the rain itself or are you also getting runoff from the roof of your house? If that is the case then relocating away from the house may be best. Or redirecting that runoff away from your coop. Roof runoff can equate to a lot of water. I think enlarging your run would be a really good idea. If you can make it large enough so that the grass is not completely scratched up then the ground cover will help with the moisture also. And if you can cover/roof part of your run then that would redirect some of that moisture away also. I have two runs one is covered and one is not. The covered run stays dry enough to use the deep litter method, it only gets wet when the rain blows sideways. My open run is pretty large and with the exception of their dust bathing areas and right around the door in and out, stays covered in grass so it works well and stays pretty dry overall. Good luck! I've learned that having chickens means constantly modifying something!

Run off was my first concern when we placed the coop where we did. The down spout is on the Southside of the coop runs away from the coop. The other down spout is angled so the water goes around the outside of the coop. It is the direct rain that is the issue. If I can get my hubby on board, I wanted to cover the whole run but he doesn't. At least not yet. And you can see that my attempts at building a run myself isn't great.

 

[coach723]

Maybe you can find some salvage materials, or even figure a way to put up a tarp, even over a pvc frame, at least temporarily to direct some of the rain away. Best of luck! Been there!

 

[WeedyGrl]

Ugh, the dreaded flooded run! We made every mistake with our first flock, but at least we learned what not to do! LOL. First, do Not add any straw or shavings, that will turn it into a stinky mucky mess. We did that ugh. After raking and shoveling all that gunky mess, we put down pea gravel for drainage, then put the sand (a coarse sand) on top of that. It built up their run a bit so the water didn't settle there anymore and the pea gravel is great for drainage. It was a lot of work because of the mess we made with adding other stuff, but in the end it worked like a charm!!

I love this idea - of the layers... may be a project for this weekend. We ended up putting down some pallets with plywood on top by the food and water. And we have two long perches to roost on, but I feel so bad when they scratch at the mud!!

 

[andreanar]

I love this idea - of the layers... may be a project for this weekend. We ended up putting down some pallets with plywood on top by the food and water. And we have two long perches to roost on, but I feel so bad when they scratch at the mud!!

I know how awful it is to see them standing around in the mud. I have a few feather footed breeds and their feet feathers were just caked in it. Since the stone and sand its been great. It also built up the ground in the run a bit so the water isn't able to sit in there like a pond.