Keeping a Chicken Run From Getting Muddy?

[Slgov13]

My run was super muddy, so I covered it all with a few inches of wood chips. Got a whole load of the chips for free through craigslist. That fixed the mud problem, and the chickens love scratching through the mulch. Good luck with your run!

 

[aart]

Hi, everyone! An update: I am planning on putting a covered area over the muddy area, but in the meantime, I will be doing the deep litter system, mixing shavings into the soil, is there anything else any of you would suggest I do? A big thank you to everyone for their help!

As has been mentioned often here(I think) get the drainage sorted(with roof or not)before adding any depth of bedding.

 

[French Breed]

Hi, everyone! This may be a silly question, but does anyone have any tips for keeping chicken runs from getting muddy? I live in Western Washington, where it's raining most of the time. My chicken run is big, about 30' square and I can't cover it. While I do have two huge evergreens growing in the middle, they don't stop most of the rain. The dirt is packed as hard as rock in half of it, and during storms, my chickens are sloshing around in the water, which can not be good for them. To sum it up, do any of you have any tips for making the dirt better draining and getting less muddy? Thanks!

Have you tried laying some fresh sod in the run. It will give your chickens something to do (scratch) and it will keep them a bit dryer through the wet season. Best of luck to you!!

 

[Starburst]

Why is that one part muddier than the rest?
Is there copious runoff standing in puddles there...or....???

I think one part of the run is muddier because the chickens and I are always walking on it, making it more compact, and it's also the place with the least coverage from the branches of the trees, causing it to get rained on all the time. I also think it's the flattest part, but I don't know for sure.

 

[Starburst]

As has been mentioned often here(I think) get the drainage sorted(with roof or not)before adding any depth of bedding.

Definitely going to address the drainage problem.

 

[Starburst]

Have you tried laying some fresh sod in the run. It will give your chickens something to do (scratch) and it will keep them a bit dryer through the wet season. Best of luck to you!!

I haven't! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Flockincrazy]

Hi, everyone! This may be a silly question, but does anyone have any tips for keeping chicken runs from getting muddy? I live in Western Washington, where it's raining most of the time. My chicken run is big, about 30' square and I can't cover it. While I do have two huge evergreens growing in the middle, they don't stop most of the rain. The dirt is packed as hard as rock in half of it, and during storms, my chickens are sloshing around in the water, which can not be good for them. To sum it up, do any of you have any tips for making the dirt better draining and getting less muddy? Thanks!

Mine used to be a muddy mucky mess I put play sand and mulch (uncolored) in mine and have not had a problem since but make sure to make one side a little higher than the other

 

[ToriD26]

I’m in eastern Washington and have had the same problem. I’ve added sand, pea gravel, and leaves from my trees in the fall to my run over a few years to build it up. It still gets wet but the chickens have composted the leaves down and the sand helps with drainage. Plus the chickens love flinging them around and looking for bugs.

 

[rocking chickens]

Well in a bought of overkill you could move over to me where it is so dry that a 30 sprinkle will be talked about for the next week as a "storm"

 

[rosemarythyme]

Have you tried laying some fresh sod in the run. It will give your chickens something to do (scratch) and it will keep them a bit dryer through the wet season. Best of luck to you!!

Be careful with using sod - you need to verify it does not have any chemicals such as fertilizers added to it. Sod is often doused in all sorts of stuff to make it grow.

Also rather expensive for something that the chickens will tear up and destroy in no time flat. If I give my chickens "sod" it's just clumps of weeds with roots that need to get disposed of.