Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RoyalChick]

French drains
French fries
French kissing
French seams
French's mustard

Do any of these actually have anything to do with France?

I don't think so!!

 

[ChicoryBlue]

That will only help if the grade continues down outside the run - otherwise there is nowhere for the water to go and it will just sit at the bottom end of the run.
Flowing water is much less of an issue in the run than water that is stuck sitting in there.

I always learned that the first line of defense is to exclude water: that is roof, gutter and berms outside to prevent water flowing in.

But second line of defense is to ensure that water exits under gravity - that is ensuring grade flows away from the run somewhere.

Finally you can go to various sump type ideas - like burying a high capacity container which can either leach out slowly over time or be pumped out (manually or with an electrical pump).

French drains - which can be waaay simpler than their fancy name implies are all about the second line of defense by giving the water an easy way to flow away. The simplest French drain is a sloped ditch lined with landscape fabric and filled with coarse gravel like 1# or so.

Would the crusher run packed against the run side act like a berm? DH wondered about using the gravel sand stuff as a berm but I think it won’t pack, it’s too loose and also acts like a wick.

I do need to determine if the water still on the run floor is seeping in from the side or from below. The run is next to the french drain and maybe everything north west is trying to drain to it.

 

[RoyalChick]

I’ll get pictures tomorrow.
Now I am not entirely sure what I’m looking at so I will study this more. The run is on part of a shale parking area / driveway, so yes it’s on very compacted rocks.

Outside the run, water tends to just sit there and not go anywhere. It looks really flat with depressions here and there. I have thought it might be trying to go toward the swale drain, it has to go under the run to get there. Maybe a pickaxed trench around the run to the drain would help. Gotta study it more.

The water I saw in the run corner earlier today while it was raining - some or all was actually coming from the tarps above the wire but under the leaking roof (the other disaster hah), rolling down off and dripping not out but coming back just inside the wire, down into the wet corner. Today I covered the sides with the winter tarps, made sure they were tucked under the roof tarps for now, and sat in there and watched while it steadily showered outside. Nothing dripped in. The water from earlier had subsided a lot, not to nothing, but, it wasn’t increasing. Maybe the flood before was from this?

If it is flat and you are not seeing a lot of water flowing into the run, then you have a good chance of solving this by exclusion - and your experiment today with tarps support that.
It is astonishing how much water even a small leak or blown in rain can create so you would need to be ruthless at exclusion but I think it is your best bet.
By shale parking area I assume you mean it is compacted rock? If it doesn't actually have tarmac on it then it should drain reasonably well - again supporting the plan to work first of all on exclusion.
The thing that worries me is the swale drain. Assuming that was professionally done, then the drain should be at a low point and water flowing to it going in the run won't stop. However, if it is working well and water is flowing out towards the drain, it shouldn't be a big problem - it will be their water feature! But I am worried you didn't see the water flowing into the drain. Is it possible that in constructing the chicken run you blocked the path of the water towards the drain? If that is the case then the water would come into the run (heading towards the drain) and then get stuck there.
Things to make sure on exclusion in addition to roof and gutters would be stuff blowing in - some awning or tarp on the side facing the prevailing wind would help. I made very large roof overhangs which helps a lot but I still get a lot of water blown in to the run.

What I would do is throw a pallet over the really bad flooded area for now and put all your effort into exclusion. But also really understand the water flow towards the drain.

Photos will help!
Sorry for long post - hope it helps a bit.

 

[RoyalChick]

Would the crusher run packed against the run side act like a berm? DH wondered about using the gravel sand stuff as a berm but I think it won’t pack, it’s too loose and also acts like a wick.

I do need to determine if the water still on the run floor is seeping in from the side or from below. The run is next to the french drain and maybe everything north west is trying to drain to it.

No. Water drains well through crusher rock - it is actually what you use to create drainage passages - a simple French drain is just a ditch filled with crusher rock because the water will flow easily through the crusher and away from where you don't want it.
A berm is to exclude water so is usually heaped up dirt. My thick clay soil makes wonderful berms because it takes ages for water to penetrate it so it just flows elsewhere.
I just made a long post and the issue of water heading to the French drain is what is worrying me.
Pictures and a diagram will help.

 

[RoyalChick]

Here is a site with some ideas I came across

https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/how-to-achieve-better-yard-drainage/

This is a good article - and it does emphasize starting with a drainage diagram. This is really critical because you have to understand where the water flows naturally so you can figure out how to manage it.
I like the picture of the French drain - you can make them more simply without pipe with just the trench full of rock.
I have a big dry well in my driveway and I think I need to install another one by the barn where I have a big issue when it rains heavily. I started with a dry well underneath the chicken run but in the end I put a pipe in to get the water further away.

 

[featherhead007]

Ha ha - I learned the hard way by excluding water from the basement in a series of places (including one with a running stream through the basement that the cats would regularly catch fish in!).

I grew up in a place where the dam was always filled up and the fish would jump right over the ledge into our hands. Wow those days were fun! . Topanga canyon Los Angeles California

 

[featherhead007]

No. Water drains well through crusher rock - it is actually what you use to create drainage passages - a simple French drain is just a ditch filled with crusher rock because the water will flow easily through the crusher and away from where you don't want it.
A berm is to exclude water so is usually heaped up dirt. My thick clay soil makes wonderful berms because it takes ages for water to penetrate it so it just flows elsewhere.
I just made a long post and the issue of water heading to the French drain is what is worrying me.
Pictures and a diagram will help.

Water seeking its lowest point, will, through gravity, find its lowest level and pool there. Except for Australia where everything is messed up!

 

[featherhead007]

Ha ha - I learned the hard way by excluding water from the basement in a series of places (including one with a running stream through the basement that the cats would regularly catch fish in!).

Catfishing? hmm

 

[ChicoryBlue]

No. Water drains well through crusher rock - it is actually what you use to create drainage passages - a simple French drain is just a ditch filled with crusher rock because the water will flow easily through the crusher and away from where you don't want it.
A berm is to exclude water so is usually heaped up dirt. My thick clay soil makes wonderful berms because it takes ages for water to penetrate it so it just flows elsewhere.
I just made a long post and the issue of water heading to the French drain is what is worrying me.
Pictures and a diagram will help.

I loved both your posts, not too long at all, & very helpful! Will examine things tomorrow, with a level, take some pics and maybe a drawing, & try to understand what’s going on.

 

[Ponypoor]

Would the crusher run packed against the run side act like a berm? DH wondered about using the gravel sand stuff as a berm but I think it won’t pack, it’s too loose and also acts like a wick.

I do need to determine if the water still on the run floor is seeping in from the side or from below. The run is next to the french drain and maybe everything north west is trying to drain to it.

This is what I backfilled the barn with, I don’t have eves troughing on the barn roof, it has such a steep slope and the snow just avalanches off it that I am afraid the troughing would be torn off.

So I made sure the backfill on the barn was at a good slope and crusher run so it packed in good.