How cold is too cold?

[Jenni Hen]

Even a shallow scrape around the uphill side of the coop and down the sides could help.

Building up the ground inside the coop with plenty of dry organic material will also help.

This discussion is very helpful, thank you everyone!
I have a narrow stone path either side of the run, just stones and blocks laid on top of the soil, and if even a shallow scrape would help then I could scrape out and lay rubble or pebbles under the paths. That would solve the problem of space in the garden.
Building up the ground inside the coop - such as making ramps - would still be helpful for the times when the water can't drain away because the ground all around is waterlogged.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

What you call a "soak away", is that like a french drain ? You bury a long plastic tube that has holes and a cloth on it to collect and drain the water from where you don't want it to where it causes no issues (like directly into a pond or a lake) since you bury it that means you can put it around the run, middle of the run or under a space that is a path. That doesn't take up any room in your landscape and is not dangerous to slipping or falling into if you are tight on space. I likely would not put it into the run if it means you make the perimeter of the run vulnerable to a predictor but alongside the outside of it where the water is coming from (if you can see where the water comes from).

I have one behind the run (mountain side) that leads into a garden area and goes out to the ditch in front (road side). It gathers the water that comes from the mountain and makes it circle around the run and go away from the run to the ditch. Maybe I should make a sketch and add it to this message, that sounds confusing as a description. I had a little too strong a coffee this morning I think it makes me a little too intense

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

By the way, a drainage pipe/tube as described above is not usually expensive, and often people have a piece laying around to be recycled since it comes in long rolls that you cut to size.

 

[3KillerBs]

By the way, a drainage pipe/tube as described above is not usually expensive, and often people have a piece laying around to be recycled since it comes in long rolls that you cut to size.

One can also achieve the same effect, though with more labor and disturbance of the landscape, by digging a ditch, putting gravel in it, topping the gravel with landscape fabric to keep the silt out, and topping that with whatever soil, paving stones, whathaveyou that matches the rest of the ground.

This is superior for areas where you might drive vehicles or equipment that *could* crush the buried plastic pipes.

 

[Jenni Hen]

What you call a "soak away", is that like a french drain ? You bury a long plastic tube that has holes and a cloth on it to collect and drain the water from where you don't want it to where it causes no issues (like directly into a pond or a lake) since you bury it that means you can put it around the run, middle of the run or under a space that is a path. That doesn't take up any room in your landscape and is not dangerous to slipping or falling into if you are tight on space. I likely would not put it into the run if it means you make the perimeter of the run vulnerable to a predictor but alongside the outside of it where the water is coming from (if you can see where the water comes from).

I have one behind the run (mountain side) that leads into a garden area and goes out to the ditch in front (road side). It gathers the water that comes from the mountain and makes it circle around the run and go away from the run to the ditch. Maybe I should make a sketch and add it to this message, that sounds confusing as a description. I had a little too strong a coffee this morning I think it makes me a little too intense

I don't know about french drains but that sounds like a land drain, except I didn't know they had anything inside them. A soakaway is usually a sort of pit, not something that forms a channel to lead water to another place. It's filled with small stones and the idea is that surplus water from the surrounding ground will soak into it. For example, at my previous house, water started to seep into the cellar (something to do with installing central heating). The plumber dug a pit in the garden, about 2 feet square and 2 or 3 feet deep, and filled it with limestone chips. Then the groundwater soaked into it rather than permeating the sandstone wall of the cellar.
The underlying problem here isn't so much that water flows through but more that it doesn't flow but gradually builds up in the soil and sometimes there's nowhere for it to go. Just for interest, I've attached some pics from 2021 to show the flood defences in action. The riverside picnic tables are underwater but the electric light still works! My house is a couple of hundred yards away, just far enough to be able to get insurance (phew!)

 

[3KillerBs]

I don't know about french drains but that sounds like a land drain, except I didn't know they had anything inside them. A soakaway is usually a sort of pit, not something that forms a channel to lead water to another place. It's filled with small stones and the idea is that surplus water from the surrounding ground will soak into it. For example, at my previous house, water started to seep into the cellar (something to do with installing central heating). The plumber dug a pit in the garden, about 2 feet square and 2 or 3 feet deep, and filled it with limestone chips. Then the groundwater soaked into it rather than permeating the sandstone wall of the cellar.
The underlying problem here isn't so much that water flows through but more that it doesn't flow but gradually builds up in the soil and sometimes there's nowhere for it to go. Just for interest, I've attached some pics from 2021 to show the flood defences in action. The riverside picnic tables are underwater but the electric light still works! My house is a couple of hundred yards away, just far enough to be able to get insurance (phew!)

Looks like building up the level of the ground in the run might be the only option in your circumstances.

 

[Jenni Hen]

By the way, a drainage pipe/tube as described above is not usually expensive, and often people have a piece laying around to be recycled since it comes in long rolls that you cut to size.

I was thinking about it and I might have some pieces on the allotment so I could experiment without expense.

 

[WI chickens]

I was thinking about it and I might have some pieces on the allotment so I could experiment without expense.

You probably already know this, so my apologies if it sounds patronizing, but if you use drain tile (drain pipe, drain tubing, whatever) make sure you use it with the holes facing downward, not upward at the top of the tube. It's a pretty common mistake.

 

[Jenni Hen]

Looks like building up the level of the ground in the run might be the only option in your circumstances.

I had a critical look at the garden when I'd put the chucks to bed and realised that the border on one side is quite a bit higher than the bottom of the run. I thought I'd levelled it off to better effect; but there are lots of roots from perennial plants and I was probably more aware of how much effort it took than how effective I'd been!
The path would benefit from levelling and re-laying anyway so I only need to re-lay with small stones or a pipe under the paving blocks and there'll be a drain that would help.
The border needs digging anyway to get rid of some nuisance weeds.
If I plan carefully I should be able to do a general tidy-up and improve both the run by making it higher and dryer and the frog area by making it lower and wetter

 

[Jenni Hen]

You probably already know this, so my apologies if it sounds patronizing, but if you use drain tile (drain pipe, drain tubing, whatever) make sure you use it with the holes facing downward, not upward at the top of the tube. It's a pretty common mistake.

No, I didn't know that and I might well have used the holes to catch the water from above! Thank you, and it doesn't sound patronising at all, just clarifying an important point.