Iowa Flood/Mud Help

[Acre4Me]

Good Luck with all that mud! WOW! that is one wet run.

We have also had a very wet 9 months, and our raised beds were installed by previous owner in a low spot (who does that?) so they are surrounded by water or mud, and have been surrounded by water or mud for so long that it is turning into swamp land, including that swampy smell - but the plants in the raised beds are growing fine so far. The chicken run (near the raised beds) is slightly elevated, so only muddy in one corner section with very heavy rain in a short period of time.

For temporary fix, until it gets dried out, maybe try heavy cardboard (like from an appliance) laid on the ground. Any big box store should have some large boxes that can be cut down. Yes, it will not last forever, but it is surprising how resilient cardboard can be. Maybe lay it down, and plant to replace every so many days. Hopefully cardboard boxes aren't such a hot commodity. If you cant find any from big store someone on fb or CL might be getting rid of the large wardrobe boxes or large packing boxes from a move. You can buy the boxes too - but don't if you can find for free. Of course, many people indicate they are successful in finding random building materials on fb or CL, so you might com across some random cuts of plywood or OSB for the same purpose. Maybe a friend or neighbor has a few random pieces from some past project.

Good Luck!

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Thanks everyone. Hoping we can make it through this...

Hi I'm from South central Iowa. Can you temporarily put some pallets in their pen to elevate them and cover it with some straw or something.

 

[MROO]

Thanks everyone. Hoping we can make it through this...

Pallets are your friend! Stack three pallets - two on one side with another right beside it, like steps. If the slats are too far apart, cover them with a tarp or piece of plywood.
If you can't get pallets, build a low platform. The idea is to give them a "dryish" island in the middle of their lovely mud pond. You can do the same thing with the inside of their house - a small platform or overturned cat-litter box, anything to get them up out of the mud long enough for a nap.
I feel your pain ... and your waterlogged toes. We had the same issue last year here in Maryland. It only rained twice all summer. Once for 27 days and then again about two weeks later ... for 32 more. This year, we've already had three days above 90 degrees ... and it's still only May. UNCLE!

 

[aart]

Holy Buckets!!
A few bags of bark ain't gonna help that.
Bet the ducks kinda love it.

Pallets might not even be tall enough,
but that might be a fast solution for at least part of the run.
And you could put the plastic playhouse up on pallets too.

 

[rosemarythyme]

With flooding there's really no amount of bedding you could add that will fix it... it's not that the deep litter has failed you but the ground is over saturated and until the water recedes you'll be sitting in mud and water.

Since you mentioned not having any pallets, any sort of yard junk might help - any scrap wood, large branches, bricks, pavers, etc? Best you can do is just try to give them something elevated to keep them out of the mud.

 

[MROO]

No pallets? If you have a GoodWill or other thrift store around, pick up a cheap all-wood coffee table. If you can't find a coffee table, a taller one will table will do. You'll just have to cut the legs down to whatever height you need to keep your birds out of the mud. Make sure is not made of composite wood (sometimes called Ameriwood,) or it will disintegrate in the wet. Put it out in the run as an "island," and use a few concrete blocks as steps. You may have to rough up the surface a bit to keep your birds from slipping, but that's easy enough to do with a sander or a bit of sandpaper.
When the flood is over, I think I'd put a row of concrete block all around the run, and fill it at least halfway with gravel before building up the run bed.
Can you dig a swale around the run to guide run-off away? We sometimes use straw bales to redirect water, as well. Just hammer a piece of rebar through them to keep them in place when the flow runs strongly. I wonder if lining the bed of the run with unbroken straw bales would help. You couldn't leave them forever, because they'll eventually rot ... but by then, they'd sure make good compost.

 

[MROO]

Another thought - a child's wooden picnic table - the ones with the benches built into the frame. They're designed to stay outside in all sorts of weather. It can even stay once the run dries out, as a sun/overhead shelter.

 

[aart]

Since you mentioned not having any pallets

Oops, sorry missed that part.

 

[333113]

Another thought - a child's wooden picnic table - the ones with the benches built into the frame. They're designed to stay outside in all sorts of weather. It can even stay once the run dries out, as a sun/overhead shelter.

What a great idea!

 

[333113]

Holy Buckets!!
A few bags of bark ain't gonna help that.
Bet the ducks kinda love it.

My ducks love it too...and then call for more water to wash off. A never-ending cycle, an inspiration for a perpetual motion machine to bring water to ducks.

Wait, I studied that in school...that would be the water cycle!