ground very soggy in my run

[the1honeycomb]

I have placed my permanent run in a covered, normally dry location, I know that it is rainy season but the run is a big soggy mess now and I don't know how to dry it up. can I put something down that will help?

 

[LarryPQ]

Tossing down some handfulls of pine shavings will help wick up the moisture.

Some folks will use hay, but BOY does that smell when mixed with chicken poop.

 

[madabouthens]

maybe if u put some stones in it then covere the stones with straw? thats what i do and it works fine.. ! GOOD LUCK !

 

[elmo]

Me, too. So I finally bit the bullet and put sand into our big run. It was a lot of work, but no more mud anymore.

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

Need to clear out the mucky stuff and make it possible for the poo to dry. Collecting poo and composting it is a good idea.

 

[Eggcessive]

When I had my horses they kept the outside of their doorway a quagmire of mud whatever the season. I finally put "crusher run" hauled from the gravel store on it and covered it in a 4x8 rubber stall mat and it stayed dry for years. It seems to me adding pine shavings would help temporarily, but then start smelling much like my brooder right now with spilled feed plus poo plus spilled water=big smelly mess.

 

[welasharon]

I prefer sand and I covered the pen to keep it dry. No smell no mess

 

[the1honeycomb]

Wow great ideas guys, I know that when I took a bunk of the hay that had started to break down out there were a lot of earth worms and the chickens loved it, I will try the wood shavings and the sand. those are the things I have on hand now! Love the ideas !!!

 

[patandchickens]

See my "fixing a muddy run" page (link in .sig below) for discussion of options, both short- and long-term.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[the1honeycomb]

WOW that is a very informative link!! Thanks, now all I need to do is figure out the best way to fix the problem for the coop I built
Thank you all for the useful advice!