Muddy Coop Club

[SilverPhoenix]

Here in northern California, it's been raining almost constantly for the last two weeks and looks to continue doing so for at least another ten days. My runs look more like swamps. At one point there were large streams running through them! I think I'm bothered by it more than my birds are, they're continuing life as usual and don't seem to mind much. For me, though, it's miserable! The muck is so deep, there are big puddles everywhere, the birds are all dirty and bedraggled, and it's just so darn annoying!

This is not a suggestions post, I do know how to cut down on the mud and plan to implement those plans before next winter, but rather a complain/gripe/moan thread. Feel free to whine about your yucky coops, too!

Can someone perform a sun dance or something?

 

[Sylvialarry]

I feel your pain. I'm in Northern Ca too and am so sick of this weather. My coop run is not muddy but is extremely damp. My husband has dug a ditch around their home and that keep the water flow out. The girls are smart and stay inside the house most of the days that it is raining or snowing. I don't let them out unless the sky is clear. They got to get out yesterday and they just loved it. I'm just ready for warmer weather.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
My coop is fine, but I will happily whine about the horse pastures and yard. We are in a very low spot, I have done extensive ditching etc since we moved in and it all drains MUCH better now but basically at the end of the day Low + Clay = Bottomless Mud. There is a *reason* that I wrote the mud page that is in my .sig

I lost a boot in the mud just yesterday evening, when I was standing on one foot trying to clear a little runoff trench with the other foot. Ended up sock-foot in the mud. Not happy about it! "Fortunately" today it is all frozen and has an inch of snow on it. Where is spring?

Anyhow, complain away, you won't get any criticism from ME, and best of luck for a drier next few weeks!

Pat

 

[aggie9296]

Maybe you could plant something that needs constant watering? Like seeding or sodding your yard. That usually sends us into a drought here.

 

[gryeyes]

I am SO tired of this rain causing muddiness. Rain would be okay if the ground dried up the next day. But I've got this adobe mud muck that is slicker'n snot. Whether it's under two inches of water or two, three days have passed after it stopped raining. The rest of the year, you could build skyscrapers on it without foundations, it's so danged hard. Like fossilized dinosaurs.

Meanwhile, I have to hang onto things to navigate anywhere. The muck clings to and fills the ridges on the bottom of my boots so there's no traction.

And the wind! I imagine chickens hurtling through the air, beak over tail-feathers, in the sustained 30 mph winds. Gusts measured upwards of 50 mph. The chickens look so bedraggled. And muddy. Apparently rooster love is not deterred by inclement weather, because most of the hens have very muddy backs. No wonder the girls look so weary.

<*too tired to run around crazily with arms up in the air, screaming in frustration*>

 

[kittycooks]

Oh my, I know how that feels to lose a boot. Your picture of the lake looks very familiar! Great article BTW.
I've been adding pea gravel and sand to combat the mud. The frost hasn't come out of the ground yet so I know it's gonna get worse!

Quote:
My coop is fine, but I will happily whine about the horse pastures and yard. We are in a very low spot, I have done extensive ditching etc since we moved in and it all drains MUCH better now but basically at the end of the day Low + Clay = Bottomless Mud. There is a *reason* that I wrote the mud page that is in my .sig

I lost a boot in the mud just yesterday evening, when I was standing on one foot trying to clear a little runoff trench with the other foot. Ended up sock-foot in the mud. Not happy about it! "Fortunately" today it is all frozen and has an inch of snow on it. Where is spring?

Anyhow, complain away, you won't get any criticism from ME, and best of luck for a drier next few weeks!

Pat

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Oh, that takes me back to my girlhood growing up in northern Vermont.

Now I'm here in Texas, where I can't remember the last time we saw even a whisper of rain. We're in a real drought. But the weather has been beautiful, in the 70's and even 80's. My daughter and husband have been swimming already. But I've been trying to get all my building/landscaping stuff done because all too soon it's going to be unpleasantly hot for working outdoors.

 

[SilverPhoenix]

I'm planning on adding a whole bunch of gravel to my runs sometime during the summer when it's completely dry, so hopefully that will keep things much cleaner and nicer next year. But in the meantime, this is just crazy! It just rains and rains and rains, and now the wind is insane, too. Makes me want to be a real crazy chicken lady and bring all of the 80+ poultry inside! Of course I'm not actually going to do that, but at least it would stop my incessant thoughts of, "Oh, my poor birds, wading through the muck and getting all wet!" Granted, they have shelter from the rain and dry areas to escape to, but...hey, these birds are my babies, I can't help but feel sorry for them.

I'm glad at least I have people here who understand, and even others around who are trapped in the same ridiculous storm system!

Can you believe that even in this weather, five of my seramas are broody?

Silly birds! It's looking like chicks might just happen, though! Better move some of my broodies indoors.

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
I am home sick today, and when I was at work I had other things to occupy my mind but which allowed me sudden, intense worry about the chickens cycles. Not today. This is nuts. I even have one pullet who got over the fence into the vacant lot 2 days ago and is pacing the fence to come home but WILL NOT LET ME CATCH HER. I tried last night and the night before - but there's no way I'm gonna spend all day - sick! - out there trying to catch her. In this weather!!

I want to open my doors, too, and let them all in the house. Of course, I won't.... but you saying it lets ME say I am tempted, too. At least the chicks and ducklings in the brooders get more of my attention than a regular weekday. This storm is ridiculous.

I feel guilty turning up the heat in the house.... for just me, two small dogs and a cat.

 

[EssexGirl]

My husband borrowed my boots this morning to let the chickens out - and very kindly left them outside, in the rain, where I've just found them. The girls are looking very bedraggled and bewildered, like - who put a swimming pool in when we weren't looking? I've just opened the stable door (we use it as a shed) and put their food in - they never have the sense to stay in the coop, but hopefully they will take shelter in there. So this is what spring is like ... ?

ETA: Nope, they're all standing outside the door staring in at me and the cat!!