FLOODING

[TinyRaptorDodos]

We’re having really weird weather this year, it’s already flooding! My girls love foraging in the water BUT it’s supposed to drop back to -4f soon so it will all FREEZE, I don’t want an icy barn. Their coop is lifted thankfully so we don’t need to worry about that it’s just the barn. I’m not sure how to prevent the flooding. I’m trying to move out next year so I’m trying to keep all this low budget if possible we do have a pump for flooding but the barn is full of poop and dust that will clog it

I have their food and water in an area in the barn that shouldn’t flood

 

[aart]

Do you know where the water is coming in?

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

Do you know where the water is coming in?

Everywhere probably, we had 3/4 feet of snow this year and it’s all melting. The barn is SUPER old and has never had any repairs, it’s full of rodents(a little owl friend is helping me with them) that have dug holes under the walls

 

[rosemarythyme]

You can throw down some pallets or extra bedding to give them some surface that's elevated (or confine them to the coop in the meantime) but if the entire lot is flooding you can't really do anything about it.

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

You can throw down some pallets or extra bedding to give them some surface that's elevated (or confine them to the coop in the meantime) but if the entire lot is flooding you can't really do anything about it.

So far it’s only dips in the barn. I’m hoping it won’t spread… I’ll go pick up some extra pellets at the feed store! Thank you!

 

[Penpal]

You might put a couple of boards down so they can cross the flooded area.

One cheap fix would be to dig a hole where the lowest part is, then fill it with large gravel. The water will move itself to the gravel hole.

 

[NatJ]

Everywhere probably, we had 3/4 feet of snow this year and it’s all melting.

And of course the water cannot soak into the ground yet, because the ground is still frozen solid (I see you are in Wasilla, Alaska. I grew up near Kenai, so conditions would have been fairly similar when things were thawing.)

we do have a pump for flooding but the barn is full of poop and dust that will clog it

I wonder if you could dig a hole, line it with screen, and put the pump inside that? The water could flow in through the screen but the poop would be caught.

If you can't do something like that, I agree with the other people who suggest putting down something to raise the chickens out of the water: bedding, pallets, boards, bales of hay or straw, or whatever else is handy. Things like bedding or bales of straw will get wet but the top can stay dry if it is high enough, while things like pallets or boards will just be above the water so the chickens have a higher place to be.

I have their food and water in an area in the barn that shouldn’t flood

Good thinking

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

And of course the water cannot soak into the ground yet, because the ground is still frozen solid (I see you are in Wasilla, Alaska. I grew up near Kenai, so conditions would have been fairly similar when things were thawing.)


I wonder if you could dig a hole, line it with screen, and put the pump inside that? The water could flow in through the screen but the poop would be caught.

If you can't do something like that, I agree with the other people who suggest putting down something to raise the chickens out of the water: bedding, pallets, boards, bales of hay or straw, or whatever else is handy. Things like bedding or bales of straw will get wet but the top can stay dry if it is high enough, while things like pallets or boards will just be above the water so the chickens have a higher place to be.


Good thinking

That’s a really good idea, I never would’ve thought of that. I’ll see if I can dig one deep enough as you said the ground is still frozen and the barns dirt is 50% rocks.