Help, My run has turned to pure mud

[taylorducks21]

I have a 12'x12' run for my 6 pekins. I have a kiddie pool in there and within 2 weeks they have turned the whole thing to mud. What can/should I do? I have read through many other threads about this, but I'm still not sure what I should do. I wanted them to have grass to forage in during the day, but my idea of this run and the reality of it are very different. Now I feel bad that all they have is a mud hole to live in all day.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

My chicken run never has grass anyone (they ate it all!) so I either let them free range most days or tear up a small piece of turf for them to Peck at.

I know you said you read through a lot of threads, but here’s a link to one that I found particularly useful.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...run-from-getting-muddy.1385104/#post-22746242
It’s technically for chickens, but you might find it handy.

What I ended up doing was (not for the full run) covered part of the run with tin roofing, and then under that added (smoothing) gravel. It only covers about an 8th of their run (but they also have trees that keep it dry) but it creates a safe place for them to be when it’s really pouring. I hope this helps!

 

[DuckDuckSook]

I have created a kitchen area for my ducks. I used an old gate frame (2x4's) that had lattice over it and covered it with chicken wire too. I put the water tubs and food bowls on top of it. Underneath, I laid down a layer of pea gravel. It's been working pretty good so far at keeping the run from getting muddy. I also lay down a mix of wood chips, straw, and hay in the run and stir it up every few days. My chickens are in with the ducks and they do a good job of stirring it up so it can dry out. If some areas are just too damp, I toss that and add some dry materials. I don't have a kiddie pool in my run. My ducks just swim in the water containers (cat litter box and round rubber bowls). They seem happy and the run is pretty dry. We haven't had rain in a while, which helps, but my run is completely covered with tarps to keep out some of the wet. I don't know if this is helpful to you at all, but just thought I'd share what seems to be working pretty well over here.

 

[KaleIAm]

I live near Seattle where it rains/mists a lot. I had 6 ducks in a grassy aviary year around, which is covered with wire fencing but not solid roofing, so all the rain pours in.

I wanted to keep my ducks on grass. They key for us was to have a big enough space, 30x30 and divide it into two "yards." A front yard and a backyard. When the grass in the front yard starts to get sparce we put the ducks into the backyard and reseed the front yard. Their barn room has doors that open into both yards.

I also take them for daily foraging walks and that takes some pressure off the grass. And I dump water buckets and swimming water out of the aviary. My ducks love to dig in puddles and that really destroys the grass. I have a drainage hose for my ducks pool.

Before we did the above method we had a smaller run, 10x30, and used pea gravel. It drained like a dream but my pekin got bumblefoot. I think all ducks don't have this issue, though.

Good luck, let us know what you do and what works for you!

 

[Dux]

x2 on what KaleIAm said about needing to make sure the area is large enough to sustain the wear and tear. I wanted my girls' run to be grassy as well but it has been tough to maintain, even with just 3 ducks in a 16' x 32' space. Over the winter it gets too muddy and I need to use wood shavings, deep litter-style or risk them bumbling. I was planning to try to get some grass growing there this summer but got busy in the spring with other projects and now am thinking I might just continue on with the shavings. I do put them in a mobile pen during the day, which begins each day on clean grass, so they have a chance to nibble weeds and enjoy the feeling of grass under their webbies. (They love to hunt for bugs in the shavings in their permanent run though too.) When this duck tractor wears out I'm definitely hankering for a bigger/better one. It would be great if they could be in it over night but I don't dare trust it because of the potential for tunneling predators. That said, moving it to clean grass daily is so much easier than keeping a permanent run clean!

 

[Lilbitsnpieces]

I dug a trench across my pool area filled it with wood chips and whole surronding area..basically a french drain, but wood chips instead of gravel..
Then i top with more wood chips as it gets soggy. Keeps grass areas with grass and also helps bring up citters for eating..i also planted a button bush? Ill try to get real name. It loves moisture. And its flowers look like disco balls..at the end of trench. I trim it to keep it small..it also serves as natural shade.