How to get rid of mud in the out door run

[Cryss]

Look up Paul Gauchi in YouTube. He’s a gardener in northwest area and explains wood chips better than I.

 

[aart]

Look up Paul Gauchi in YouTube. He’s a gardener in northwest area and explains wood chips better than I.

Is there a specific video that talks about wood chips that you could link?

 

[KahKaDoodleDo22]

Can you post pics? Also, where, in general, are you in WA? Must be in the western half with the rain, but north, south, coastal, Puget Sound area, Cascades? Your "rain shadow" and "snow melting" comments makes me wonder. Years ago I lived on the dry east side, and then on the wet west side.

If it is often wet, you will likely need to cover the run in some manner. If you have water that flows through the run, you will need to divert it. Even bags of sand on top of the ground will accomplish this, but put them outside the run, and angle them if needed to make the water go where you want. If you fill the run with pourous material like chipped wood, you can place boards agains the fence to keep it in if needed. We added a lot of coarsely chipped wood and had to do this bc we have a chain link fence and the chipped wood was falling out of the holes or being actively scratched out by the chickens.

We live on a hill by Lake Bosworth. It will snow at our house and 10 mins from us there’s nothing. Same with the rain, it can rain all day long but drizzle or not rain at all in the main areas of Seattle. There’s definitely a lot more wetness here. But if it’s not raining constantly then the run drains fairly well. I just hate the mud. I’m just trying to determine what the best type of substance is to use. I’m thinking maybe woodchips, but I do like the idea of pea gravel and then something on top. The gravel seems uncomfortable for the chickens feet but allows good drainage.

 

[KahKaDoodleDo22]

Look up Paul Gauchi in YouTube. He’s a gardener in northwest area and explains wood chips better than I.

Thanks I will

 

[KahKaDoodleDo22]

Read this, you might see something that will help.

Pat’s Big Ol' Mud Page (fixing muddy runs):

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-fix-a-muddy-run-chicken-coop.47807/

We all have different conditions. What works for one person may not work for another if conditions are different. Your challenge is to determine what might work for you in your conditions.

To me there are two steps. First try to keep water out to start with. In a run your size that can be challenging. If you cover it, slope the cover so water runs off away from your run, not into it. Your coop roof also should not drain into the run. Make it strong enough for snow or ice load. Rain and snow can still blow in from the side but covering it can help a lot. Since it is on a slope, berms and swales can maybe help keep rainwater run-off out of your run.

If it gets wet you need to get the water out. Gravity will remove water of the water has a place to go. Some soils are permeable, they drain well. Some are impermeable, don't drain worth a darn. We tend to simplify it by saying sand drains well and clays don't but there are a lot of soils in between these extremes.

I don't know how steep that slope is, your slope could be a benefit to improve drainage and could pose some issues, mainly erosion or washing off bedding.

Mud is unpleasant to deal with. It's a mess to walk through, they can track it into the nests so you dirty eggs. Mud can be really unpleasant to deal with.

There is another more sinister side to a wet run. Poop and other organic matter breaks down. If it is dry enough that air can get to it, the microbes that break it down are aerobic (oxygen-breathing). These give you a nice earthy smell. If it is too wet for air to get to it, those microbes are anaerobic. Oxygen can kill them. These can really stink and become a slimy mess. Also, certain microbes or parasites can live in wet soil that don't do well in drier soil. If they can't get their feet dry they can develop foot issues. One day of mud won't be an issue but a run that is wet for an extended time can become a health issue. It's not just that it is unpleasant in the short term.

Even if your slope isn't that steep rainwater can wash dirt or bedding down slope. Also, the chickens scratch a lot. Even if they scratch uphill a lot, gravity will eventually move soil or bedding down slope. If it is steep you may need terracing and there is a fair chance you will need a barrier across the bottom to keep soil or bedding in. I'd wait to see how it behaves before I did anything, but be aware of the possibility. As much as you can, go by what you see not what someone like me tells you over the internet.

The water needs somewhere to go. If you dig a hole in clay and fill it with sand, all you have is a bathtub filled with sand and water. It's not really going to drain and can become anaerobic. I really like the idea of drilling holes and filling them with gravel, but that will only work if you reach a layer underneath that is permeable so the water has a place to go. You might be OK putting a few inches of sand on top to keep things dry while water seeps away underneath but on top of clay. You may dig a trench or two or three across the slope and fill them with sand or gravel while digging a trench down slope and filling that with sand or gravel to drain those horizontal trenches.

Hopefully you won't need to do anything this drastic. If that area doesn't hold water that well many people are very successful just filing it with some type of fill to get above the mud. This could be sand, it could be dried leaves, grass trimmings, wood chips, hay, straw, just something to keep you and them out of the mud. Some people put something to walk on like wood, pallets being very popular. Cinder blocks, bricks, or pavers might work. I dumped a few bags of pea gravel in critical places for me to walk on, that stays pretty firm and dry. The rest isn't that bad but I don't want to walk in it.

Some people dump bedding in there to absorb water and dry it up. If it stays too wet they remove it and put in more dry bedding. That's too much work for me plus you need a place for that wet bedding, but for a smaller run or small area it might be a solution.

I'm not going try to tell you what is best for you, I don't know. I'm trying to give you ideas. Good luck!

Thanks!

 

[aart]

I’m thinking maybe woodchips, but I do like the idea of pea gravel and then something on top.

The wood chips will be far superior, IMO.
Pics of run and it's slope would allow better long term suggestions.

 

[Cryss]

Is there a specific video that talks about wood chips that you could link?

There are many. In most of his videos he is repeating homself from previous videos. Yet you learn something from each one. He is Back To Eden gardener. Here’s one of the videos.

And another

 

[KahKaDoodleDo22]

I’m definitely going to upgrade some things come spring, but this is what we have for now. Any suggestions based off these pics would be helpful. I appreciate all of the suggestions I have gotten so far, hopefully these pics will help too. The one with the small “Rhode Island Pullet” is the best pic of where the mud is the worst. I do my best to not throw scratch there or any other food for health reasons. Let me know what you think?

 

[aart]

Kind hard to tell from pics, but slope doesn't look too steep.
Pics from farther back might show where run off comes into run?
Is run roof really low, like a few feet at most, can you get in there easily?
I'd still suggest large wood chippings, lots of them.

 

[KahKaDoodleDo22]

Kind hard to tell from pics, but slope doesn't look too steep.
Pics from farther back might show where run off comes into run?
Is run roof really low, like a few feet at most, can you get in there easily?
I'd still suggest large wood chippings, lots of them.

Great thanks! Yes that’s what I’m leaning towards.