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- #11
Kvanderson
In the Brooder
- May 7, 2020
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Thank you very much! They are helping me build a moat by scratching a th nek around the edges lolRead this
Pat’s Big Ol' Mud Page (fixing muddy runs):
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-fix-a-muddy-run-chicken-coop.47807/
Covering can help keep some water out, but rain or snow will blow in from the side. Covering can be part of the solution but it is usually not the complete answer.
Just throwing bedding in there is not a permanent solution, I don't care what bedding you use. Temporarily you can use bedding to give them a dry place to stand or toss in pallets or something for them and you to be above the mud. A good permanent fix for that is probably going to wait on dry weather.
For a permanent solution, you need to determine where the water is coming from and try to keep it out. That could be rain or snow from the open top or blowing in from the sides, if that is a low spot it could be draining from higher ground, the slope of the roofs could funnel water in there. The fix or fixes for that will depend on where the water is coming from.
A permanent solution also includes getting water out once it gets in. If it has somewhere to drain to, gravity will get it out. So does that have a lower spot to drain to? It's not that easy though. You probably have more clay than sand in that soil. Clay holds water, does not allow it to drain away. I see you are planning on a drain. Good.
If you dig the mud out all you have done is dig a bath tub that will hold water if it is in clay, even if you fill it with sand. I would not dig it out. Read Pat's article, she talks about this some. You need to build it up so it will drain. She suggests gravel with sand on top if you go that route. I'd use some type of round rock like river rock or pea gravel instead a crushed gravel. Crushed gravel can have sharp edges which might cut their feet when scratching.
When I built my ground level coop I hauled in a few inches of clay soil to build the coop floor level up above the outside level to keep water out. And I did a swale and berm system on the uphill side to keep rainwater runoff out of both coop and run. The run is on a bit of a rise so it drains fairly well and it is mostly covered but when the weather sets in wet for long it still gets muddy. My chickens can get up out of it and I dump bags of pea gravel in strategic places so I can get out there without sinking into the mud. I just live with some mud but it doesn't get that bad.
Good luck, mud is frustrating.