How to get rid of mud in the out door run

[twendt]

I use cedar mulch, It smells good, the girls aren't closed up inside with it, so no concern about respiratory illness, it breaks down really quickly. I might have to scoop some into the the composter!!

 

[ColoradoPip]

My run, for the most part, is not under roof. What happens when this product gets rained on? I assume it just gets wet and would either dry out or you would put more down? Is this something you buy at tractor supply?

I use this product for the bottom of a parrot cage. When it gets wet it kind of explodes and becomes a stuck together mess. I would not recommend for your application

 

[LulaBell]

I use this product for the bottom of a parrot cage. When it gets wet it kind of explodes and becomes a stuck together mess. I would not recommend for your application

Thank you for the heads up. My girls have eaten everything that was growing in their run and now it is just mud when it rains. I've tried straw and mulch and did not have success with either. I'm at a loss

 

[Cryss]

Thank you for the heads up. My girls have eaten everything that was growing in their run and now it is just mud when it rains. I've tried straw and mulch and did not have success with either. I'm at a loss

Wood chips.

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[FlyWheel]

My last coop was on a hill so drainage wasn't a problem. This time though I'm on [more or less] level ground that does puddle when it rains. So this time I took a different tack; first I covered the bottom of the run with hardware cloth then covered it with a half ton of river rock (small, rounded pebbles). This rock layer isn't deep but it seems to be alleviating the mud problem so far. Even after a good rain there is no mud and they haven't managed to scratch any bare spots yet.

 

[ktdidit]

Thanks for the advice. So you don’t think straw is bad? I haven’t ever tried it.

I've been using straw for the past few months. I clean the coop out every 2 weeks and use that straw for compost. No problems so far.

 

[MissPoulette]

Thanks!! Super helpful! I think wood chops is the way to go. I am on a list for the dump of tree clippings but noting so far. I will just have to buy some I guess

Wow! You have lots of Answers. I too live in Washington state and feel your concern. I started with wood chips 2 years ago and now the chips have broken down into black much.(soil?)
The sprouted peas that the hens don’t eat and gets buried starts to grow into a baby plant which some the hens will eat instead of a sprouted pea.

 

[KahKaDoodleDo22]

Wow! You have lots of Answers. I too live in Washington state and feel your concern. I started with wood chips 2 years ago and now the chips have broken down into black much.(soil?)
The sprouted peas that the hens don’t eat and gets buried starts to grow into a baby plant which some the hens will eat instead of a sprouted pea.

Thank you! Yeah this thread has helped many others!

 

[igorsMistress]

I second the wood chips, leaves, etc. Even hay works well, better than straw in my case. The trick for me has been not to have too thick a layer. I only put down a couple of inches of hay in my garden for quail. They could dig through it so they stirred it up for me, never had mold or any issues in there. I did the same in a small yard where I keep my coops and the soil is much more capable of absorbing water so I have less mud. Ours is clay, slippery when wet, but no issues these days. Put your flock to work. They'll till everything in and then you can add more materials and they'll do it again and adore you for it!

Since you get so much rain perhaps a combined approach of adding a roof and improving the soil would help. Polycarbonate roofing is not expensive and works quite well. Good luck!

 

[leslielbk]

I'm on the fence about sand. It's heavy, especially when wet. Regarding the hole-poking method, I used a piece of PVC pipe I had laying around, hammered it into the puddles as far as it would go and yanked it out. Shlurp! The water disappeared down the hole. It's not a permanent fix, just for emergency drainage. When it dries out enough you can deal with the low spots with a more permanent solution.