Gravel under Deep Litter?

[mamalovescoffee]

Greetings, coop & run people! The spot where we're building ours (The Garden Loft) is covered in vinca. Since we'll have to dig that out, should we take the opportunity to add gravel under the run to help with drainage or will it just end up mixed in with the litter & be a big hassle? Our yard is very shady with an abundant supply of autumn leaves which we plan to use for deep litter. The coop is situated on a relatively level spot but our lot is on a bit of a hill, so there will be some unavoidable runoff that passes through, though there has never been standing water and the run is covered.

I'm also starting to second-guess myself about… well, everything, but especially coop & run placement relative to our and our neighbor's houses. How close to your bedroom window would you want a nice-looking chicken coop, provided it wasn't smelly?

 

[eggbert420]

Me personally, I wouldn't want it near my room. Some people let chickens run loose in their homes.

 

[MerleMice]

Personally, if it is a smallish lot, I would place the coop as far away from neighbors as humanly possible, even if that meant it was unpleasantly close to my house.

 

[ShannonO]

Hi! I am building The Garden Loft now too! Posting to follow your progress.

I also have a slope and am considering leaving it or building up the grade a bit with gravel then dirt.

 

[fightingbunny]

The garden loft looks fabulous! I bet you will like it. Is the water bottle a necessary building component I wish I could do one, but it is too square and I have too much drop on my hill from front to back. I am doing a very long Garden Coop instead.

For your coop, I would place the coop where it looked okay to both houses. At least 15 feet from any property boundary or my house in case there ever was a smell. How close is the spot you already chose to where humans live?

 

[aart]

I'd leave the gravel out of the equation.
The deep litter and maybe some trenching, gutters, swales can control runoff that's heads towards the run.

The leaves are best mixed with other dry plant material:
Here's a great description of contents and how to manage organic 'bedding' in a run or coop...and there's a great video of what it looks like.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1037998/muddy-run-help-please#post_16017992