Mud in the run becoming a problem.

[Mycookoonest]

Our coop is located under a HUGE maple tree, and so is the run. Well naturally the ground is dirt. We've had quite a bit of rain and it's not pretty when they are out there in the mud.

DH and I were trying to come up with solutions to keeping the ground at least a little dry... should we try shavings? I was also thinking sand so I can rake it out with the droppings.

 

[ravenfeathers]

no, not shavings. anything organic (i mean, plant-based, not chemical free

) that you put down is going to compost and become an absolute mire. if you want to put something down that will help drain the soil, consider gravel, sand, or a combination of the two. you want to aim for five or six inches of draining substrate.

 

[Mycookoonest]

ALRIGHT!!! Gravel I didn't even think of that... DH was afraid the sand would cause problems with them. How big of gravel do I need?

 

[AngelzFyre]

We used a 89/10 crusher stone base in our run and even as a base in our horse stalls. It works great!
Rain drains right through and it's small enough and packs down well.
I'll occasionally rake over it to even it out and I've also put shavings and leaves over the top and rake them out to the mulch pile when they've gone through them and they are getting too thick.
If it's going to be raining a few days, I go out and rake the few inches off and leave just the base so it doesn't get mucky. I do put DE in a flat black pan out for them to dust in too. I leave one corner with the leaf buildup and the worms come up from underneath, also other bugs, rollypollys seem to hide there.
I like the leaves in there because it gives them something to do during the day.

 

[ravenfeathers]

Quote:
i think the size of the gravel is up to you and how much you want to spend for dirt, ha ha. as for sand, lots of folks here have sand runs. some people even use sand as bedding in their coops. it won't hurt them all, as long as it's a natural, coarse sand.

 

[belibutn]

no, not shavings. anything organic (i mean, plant-based, not chemical free wink ) that you put down is going to compost and become an absolute mire.

We use pine shavings because we want the compost, but we haven't had any mire type problems. Maybe is the the quantity we put down, or the fact that we make sure that they keep it scratched up, and other times we rake it around as well. The shavings work great for us

We didn't want to use gravel or sand because we wanted them to be able to get to the dirt and grass sprigs and bugs and all that. We also figured that gravel would just be more uncomfortable on their feet.​

 

[LynneP]

Another possibility is to build your birds a low platform so they can exit onto a dry surface. Our birds love their platforms, inside and out and they're easy to clean with a paint scraper and a little bucket...I'm sick of the heavy rains too...luckily we had roofed our run or I'd be going crazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzeee