Muddy mess....straw, pine, sand?....HELP

[NJbirdlover]

Hello fellow chicken lovers-

My run is a muddy mess! What is normally a well drained rock hard run is now (after 50" of snow) a sloppy, muddy, smelly mess!
I need to dry it out somehow but need to do it the most economical way possible. I could use straw just to give them something to walk on but I am afraid they will eat it and get impacted. I know the straw can get moldy but it's just until we get dried out a bit.

Any thoughts??

 

[Hecate]

I feel your pain - snow melt here created the most disgusting mess in the chicken pen! Last year we had plenty of wood chips available from a maple tree we had trimmed up. I would throw a pile into the pen wherever the muck seemed to be the worst and let the chickens scratch and spread them around. It helped quite a bit. Good luck!

 

[Keri78]

I through fresh hay in my runs every other month or so and it drains awesome and keeps their feet up off the mud & dirt! They enjoy scratching and pecking through it too! I've been doing this "deep hay method" since the summer and so far so good. I haven't even had to clean it out yet...It seems to decompose naturally and I just keep a fresh layer on top! Hope this helps! I've also thought about organic mulch(like a flower bed idea? I think it would have the same effect just good drainage and keep the ground built up high?) Anywho...hope this helps!

Keri

 

[Kittymomma]

I know a lot of people use hay and/or straw, but I don't like it because of the potential mold and impaction issues. For a temp fix to keep them out of the mud you could check with your local home improvement store or other businesses and see if they have any broken pallets that they want to get rid of. It varies by area, but you can usually get the broken ones free or very cheap.

 

[Keri78]

Just thought I would post a couple pics of my "tractors"...

Here's what it looked like after 24 inches(plus) of snow fell!!!

Here's what it looked like inside the run(toasty & warm..."chickie igloo style"!

 

[Badlatitude]

lol the chicken Igloo is awesome might want to poke a vent hole at the top tho.