I need to keep water out of the run

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Rather than trying to lift anything call Lever Man to do the job.

Lever Man is a great friend. He's always there to help when you need him.

 

[aart]

Leverage is girls best friend....I call it a 'Bicep Bar'.

 

[lazy gardener]

I once helped my dad move a camp building about 30' up a steep hill with some cribbing, ratchet straps, 2" pipe, and levers. He said, if you have a long enough lever, you can move the world.

 

[jthornton]

Lever Man is a great friend. He's always there to help when you need him.

I wish I could say I coined Lever Man but I got it from watching Alton Brown...

JT

 

[ChickNanny13]

Darn GREAT ideas!

 

[unbaked pegga]

Now I am confused. The chicken coop is at least 2 feet up off the ground. It is the run that is sitting on the ground. I have 300 lbs of sand against the side of the run where the yard slightly slopes. So I read if I put sand in the run that would make the ground higher in there than on the outside of the run, and that would solve the issue of water standing in the run, is that right?

 

[unbaked pegga]

1st picture = My RC (run combination coop, before I channeled) it's on the high ground but our property is lower than the one in back, water flows down hill Toward back & down the left side is lower than the right side. So I used the hoe & scraped along the perimeter down about a couple of inches along the back & along the left side, making like a channel. When it was pouring rain, it got muddy so I first used wood chips & stomped it in the mud, then put gravel on top of that. Now it don't get muddy & the water run from the back to the left side to the front & into the yard.

2nd picture = See the back left corner, it pools when it rains for day then the whole left side gets wet. The water's not flowing in (I learned) but wicking from underground So what I do is rake the shavings to about the middle letting the dirt wick, chickens like digging in it, they don't get to free range With their scratching shavings all over, it ends up in the pool & absorbs. I add more just so it's not pooling.

IF the shaving get really soaked, I wheel barrow it out into my patio (residential property) on to a tarp to dry. When it suns, I drag the tarp into the sun & move the shavings around to dry. It's "fun" work & I can do it myself, know what you mean about age, finances & being female ... ha ha

The bottom of my RC is 2x4 on it's side, then I read about DLM so I built up the sides with another row of 2x4 offsetting the ends, so my sides are now about 6". Then I just added shavings. The RC is 8x12x7, I started off with a bag/bale & of shavings (RoseBud @ Dels/TSC) add as I want more cushion.

Fell in love with TN when we were there in 1998, got real close to purchasing some property in Lebnon but Hubby couldn't handle the Winters The Summer humidity would have been hard on me. Humid here alot but had to return to help my Parents as they age ... Good luck

Oh I live right next door to Lebanon. You are right about the humidity, it can be miserable in the summer

 

[unbaked pegga]

If you want to raise up the run a bit, here's how you can do it.You might find a better way to do this, but this is the general idea

First I'm assuming that it's not attached to the coop.

When you put dirt or sand inside, put it around the inside edges first, but don't compact it.

Once done, from the outside lift up on one side of the run so that it raises off the ground a little bit (It doesn't look heavy, but you might need some help. Be careful; don't hurt yourself).

Hopefully some of the dirt or sand will collapse underneath the edge of the run. If not, you can get someone to place an object underneath the edge so that when you set the run back down it will be off of the ground a bit.

Then you can backfill that gap with dirt or sand. Do that all of the way around the run. Then fill in the rest of the inside of the run

The run is attached to the coop

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Now I am confused. The chicken coop is at least 2 feet up off the ground. It is the run that is sitting on the ground. I have 300 lbs of sand against the side of the run where the yard slightly slopes. So I read if I put sand in the run that would make the ground higher in there than on the outside of the run, and that would solve the issue of water standing in the run, is that right?

Dirt would be better because sand adsorbs water, but sand might work.

Just imagine a compacted mound of dirt several inches high in your yard. If it's higher in the middle, no water will ever collect there because it is too high, and water can't flow uphill; it will just flow down it or around it.

Now imagine a depression in your yard. Water will almost always collect there. That seems to be the condition that your run is in right now.

 

[jthornton]

Now I am confused. The chicken coop is at least 2 feet up off the ground. It is the run that is sitting on the ground. I have 300 lbs of sand against the side of the run where the yard slightly slopes. So I read if I put sand in the run that would make the ground higher in there than on the outside of the run, and that would solve the issue of water standing in the run, is that right?

Yep, raise the height of the ground in the run to higher than the surrounding area otherwise you need a wind mill with a pump to constantly pump the water out think about Holland.

JT