Muddy Coop Club

[Diamond Wire Farms]

What the rest of the NorCal crowd for got to mention, is that we are currently experience 50mph winds. Nothing is dry. The birds don't seem to mind! I caught some of the baby roos splashing and swimming in a puddle. I chased them into the coop and rubbed them with shavings to dry up a little bit of the mess. The just pouted. I guess Mom spoiled the party. I told them not to hang out with those no-good ducklings!

 

[tendriana]

Quote:
I'm in Roseville, right at the edge of Granite Bay and Orangevale. My entire yard is clay - plus it is uber-compressed because the previous owner parked lots of construction equipment on it. We bought our house last year, and I was so excited to get my 'farm' going. Realized really quick that it's impossible to plant anything in the ground - just like yours, it is ROCK HARD in the summer (I dug out a planter bed using a JACKHAMMER instead of a shovel!) and in the winter our yard is one giant lake. *Pout* I hope eventually to rent a subsoiler to rip through alot of the hardpan and clay, and then fill in with compost. But I doubt it'll happen any time soon.

As for the chickens, I keep throwing straw in their pen, so at least they aren't just in mud. The girls are really funny though - they leave the comfort of their coop to free-range, but instead of ranging they huddle right next to our front door under the awning. Now there is chicken poop all over my doorstep!!

 

[BeautifulPacificNorthwest]

I LOVE this post! I wish I had thought of it. It's so nice to commiserate. ***Squish***Squish***Squich***

I too am mucking through mud and rain tending to animals. We have had steady rain and the ground just can't absorb any more. Finally there was a break and it stopped raining for a few days, just enough to tease. Now it's steady again with more on the way. Thank goodness there is no wind. I really feel for you guys.

And the adobe mud and clay basin? I can only say I am so sorry. Here we've got beautiful soil, lush grass and loamy moss under the trees for chicken foraging. Maybe will all their dirt stirring, I'll have fewer Crane Flies this year (fingers crossed).

If "April Showers bring May flowers," what do May flowers bring?
Pilgrims!

 

[tendriana]

Quote:
JEALOUS. SO very very jealous.... *dreaming of beautiful soil that you can actually dig in.....*

 

[Diamond Wire Farms]

tendriana- Do you have access to a truck & trailer? Build yourself some raised beds, then watch Craigslist for free horse manure. You'll be gardening in no time.

On second thought, scrap the raised beds, build an Ark. We may need it by Monday!

 

[tendriana]

Quote:
Oh yes, I've been building raised beds left and right. Had to plant the mandarin and peach tree in a raised bed too. No truck yet,though we really really need one. Luckily, the previos owners left a ginormous pile of top soil... I'm assuming they were planning to landscape with it at some point. I buy compost from the store and mix both into the planter beds. But yes - I'm planning to borrow a friends truck soon to pick up some manure!!

Sure wish I had an ark driving home from work today!

 

[Ukyou]

Quote:
I'm in Roseville, right at the edge of Granite Bay and Orangevale. My entire yard is clay - plus it is uber-compressed because the previous owner parked lots of construction equipment on it. We bought our house last year, and I was so excited to get my 'farm' going. Realized really quick that it's impossible to plant anything in the ground - just like yours, it is ROCK HARD in the summer (I dug out a planter bed using a JACKHAMMER instead of a shovel!) and in the winter our yard is one giant lake. *Pout* I hope eventually to rent a subsoiler to rip through alot of the hardpan and clay, and then fill in with compost. But I doubt it'll happen any time soon.

As for the chickens, I keep throwing straw in their pen, so at least they aren't just in mud. The girls are really funny though - they leave the comfort of their coop to free-range, but instead of ranging they huddle right next to our front door under the awning. Now there is chicken poop all over my doorstep!!

its fun to see someone from my area, I am in Rocklin. If I let my daughter, all the chickens would be inside. The best was when she decided to try to stand over them with an umbrella, and we discovered that opening an umbrella freaks our chickens out.

 

[MamaChic21]

count me in the "muddy coop club"

. Here in NJ, it's been raining and snowing like crazy. The shavings inside the coop is all wet. I'm in the process of building them a new run & coop.

 

[kimbalaya]

Count me in on the muddy coop club. The soggy mess I used to call my yard is so ridiculous. Worse is that in February we had 3 weeks of no rain (which was amazing for southern Oregon), but we were still muddy then because as it turned out, there's a 2-inch galvanized water line underground about 10 feet over the fence into the neighbor's pasture from us that was leaking. We're slightly lower than they are so we were a soggy mess all those days of no rain. Finally got the water company out to fix it, and just as the surface dried up, it began to rain and has rained just about every day since. Everywhere you step, the water wells up around your boots. Ugh!

Now I'm off to read the "how to fix a muddy run" post!

 

[SilverPhoenix]

Phew--finally the rain stopped! Finally! Now, what to do with the chicken and duck bogs? I guess just hope they dry out with the sun!

I'm glad others are having the same issue as I am so I don't feel neglectful! I'm not even remotely neglectful, but I sure feel guilty when my poor chickens are walking around in the muck halfway up to their legs. They always have dry places to go and just choose to go in the muck, but still... It's so gross and ugly-looking.

I can't wait until it's been dry for a bit longer so I can clean the coops out until they're immaculate. Then they'll actually stay that way for a while because no more rain to turn everything into a slurry, and it'll seem miraculous.

I hate the heat of summer, but I sure do love having completely dry coops!