Muddy Chicken Yard

[Idaho Chicken Mama]

We have part of your yard fenced for our chickens to give them the ability to 'free range' outside of their run. We let them roam in the yard every day and didn't have an issue with wet or muddy ground during the fall and summer because it was pretty dried out from the hot months.

This is our first winter and I'm concerned with how muddy the yard is becoming from the snow melting and from their droppings. I don't want the ground to become unsanitary to them and pose any health issues. During the summer and fall the ground is all grass.

I considered trying to aerate the ground to get some of the moisture away from the top. It's pretty flat so I don't know if creating a run-off would even work in this scenario.

Does anyone have ideas to help combat mud in the yard without putting down sand, rock, or mulch? I want to make sure the grass comes back in the spring so they have plenty of greens to eat.

 

[Krugerrand]

Is their run of sufficient size to not let them out? If you want to protect the grass, you very well may need to keep them off of it for some months.

Pictures would help people to give advice.

 

[Idaho Chicken Mama]

My main concern isn't protecting the grass, it's ensuring healthy conditions for my chickens to live in. I can always purchase additional turf or cordon off an area to re-seed if needed in the spring. The run was never intended for them to live in but as an area to get out of inclement weather and house their food.

 

[Krugerrand]

Perhaps consider building a second run maintained with deep litter. Let that be their primary place to be. The wood chips and other material help their droppings stay off the surface and breakdown. For that to happen out in the open, you need a pretty large area. Then, you can let them out into the grassy area on more of an occasional basis. You could even divide the grassy area with lightweight fencing into 2 or 3 sections so that when you see one area becoming distressed you can move the chickens onto the other area and let the distressed area recover.

Ordinary grass isn't exactly chicken super-food anyway. The main health supplement to backyard scavenging is the bugs they dig up. But, to get to them ... they have to dig them up.

 

[linguini]

It really depends on the number of chickens you have roaming in the yard relative to the size of the yard. If the yard is sufficiently big for them, the grass will come back in spring, and chickens will enjoy pulling the earth worms out of the ground! If the yard is not sufficiently big, they'll eat up all the grass eventually, and the muddy situation will just become worse.

Our chickens don't mind the mud, but we do! I placed pave stones as walk way in the run so we can walk safely without tracking muds.

 

[Idaho Chicken Mama]

It really depends on the number of chickens you have roaming in the yard relative to the size of the yard. If the yard is sufficiently big for them, the grass will come back in spring, and chickens will enjoy pulling the earth worms out of the ground! If the yard is not sufficiently big, they'll eat up all the grass eventually, and the muddy situation will just become worse.

Our chickens don't mind the mud, but we do! I placed pave stones as walk way in the run so we can walk safely without tracking muds.

The pavers sound like a great idea! I agree, ours don’t seem to mind the little squish of mud but I hate trecking it around everywhere I walk lol

 

[Birds of paradise]

We have part of your yard fenced for our chickens to give them the ability to 'free range' outside of their run. We let them roam in the yard every day and didn't have an issue with wet or muddy ground during the fall and summer because it was pretty dried out from the hot months.

This is our first winter and I'm concerned with how muddy the yard is becoming from the snow melting and from their droppings. I don't want the ground to become unsanitary to them and pose any health issues. During the summer and fall the ground is all grass.

I considered trying to aerate the ground to get some of the moisture away from the top. It's pretty flat so I don't know if creating a run-off would even work in this scenario.

Does anyone have ideas to help combat mud in the yard without putting down sand, rock, or mulch? I want to make sure the grass comes back in the spring so they have plenty of greens to eat.

My main concern isn't protecting the grass, it's ensuring healthy conditions for my chickens to live in. I can always purchase additional turf or cordon off an area to re-seed if needed in the spring. The run was never intended for them to live in but as an area to get out of inclement weather and house their food.View attachment 3385093

We had heavy flooding in our area recently, with about 2 weeks of constant rains. We used sawdust/wood shavings. It's worked like a charm and will turn to compost and light mulch for any grass that might survive the beady chicken eye.

 

[Silkie fluff butts]

My main concern isn't protecting the grass, it's ensuring healthy conditions for my chickens to live in. I can always purchase additional turf or cordon off an area to re-seed if needed in the spring. The run was never intended for them to live in but as an area to get out of inclement weather and house their food.View attachment 3385093

I know it's been a few months since you posted, but I have some ideas to pass on...I live in southwest WA which means TONS of rain! We have a similar setup to yours. I put a few inches of pea gravel around the coop and walk-way, leaving a grass area and dust-bath area. That has been a total blessing! The poop disintegrates into the gravel and is so much cleaner! As for the grass area, check out "grazing frames," https://www.thegardencoop.com/blog/grazing-frames-backyard-chickens. It allows them to have grass without killing it. Admittedly, I haven't tried it yet. I have reseeded 3 times and it never lasts the winter. Now I'm so done! I've tasked my husband with building these frames next weekend so we can re-plant as soon as the weather warms a bit. I just don't see how this method can go wrong! I'll be posting in the spring, summer and winter to show our progress.