Muddy Outside run

[numzldr]

@thatotherfarmerNo really. That much straw buffered the rain,the soil underneath didn't turn to mud n with the chickens scratching in it all the time the straw didn't mat down. When I started to see too much bare ground I broke open another bale of straw n piled it up again.

 

[numzldr]

Didn't it get moldy? Or did you replace it every time it rained?

No mold cuz it didn't get matted down. Chickens kept it stirred up.

 

[RonP]

If you have access to wood chips, start with around 8 inches in a muddy run.

Top will be nice and dry, and it will last quite a while before it composts.

Then just add more...

Carbons will neutralize the manure rich nitrates.

No odors, flies, nor mud...

 

[Maikan]

Just a word of caution from a lesson learnt the hard way at my expense. Please always use a dust mask when working with straw both dry n damp, I contracted Farmers Lung disease from mold spores in damp hay n straw that had re dried and ended up loosing a lung from it as its now completely full of scar tissue and no longer functions properly.

These spores are easily air borne when both wet and dry. Your birds n animals also breath them in so you only want clean dry hay n straw around them as it can cause similar problems in them.

Try Bark mulch, Gravel n sand mix or rubber mats instead. I use the gravel n sand mix as well as some old rubber cattle mats that I got free 2nd hand in my pens n that works well and keeps them dry n pretty much mud free.

 

[Kacey I15]

Just a word of caution from a lesson learnt the hard way at my expense.  Please always use a dust mask when working with straw both dry n damp, I contracted Farmers Lung disease from mold spores in damp hay n straw that had re dried and ended up loosing a lung from it as its now completely full of scar tissue and no longer functions properly.

These spores are easily air borne when both wet and dry. Your birds n animals also breath them in so you only want clean dry hay n straw around them as it can cause similar problems in them.

Try Bark mulch, Gravel n sand mix or rubber mats instead. I use the gravel n sand mix as well as some old rubber cattle mats that I got free 2nd hand in my pens n that works well and keeps them dry n pretty much mud free.

Thank you for the advice i will for sure try mulch first!!!

 

[Kidhenduckohmy]

I read an article about letting chickens be your composter. They put all their composte in their run, grass clippings, leaves household scraps....and let the chickens turn it over. She said each week she pulled out a wheelbarrow of nice rich composte.
I have the same problem with a muddy coop. I have very heavy, clay soil and the run is in a lower area. Plus I have willow trees that keep it shady. So I figured I would try the same idea with the composte, but instead of taking it out, I would use it to build up my run. I started in the lowest area of my run, and so far like the results. The chickens keep it turned up. It was the only area that was not muddy in the last rain. I plan to keep going with the system I am using.
Hopefully at some point I will have built it up enough to be able to take soil out for my gardens?

 

[Hokum Coco]

I read an article about letting chickens be your composter.

I do something similar to what you read in that article.

I have more than one garden spot. Where the deer is browsing on my beans is where my chicken run was last year
The metal mobile shed is mounted on a two wheel trailer on the left far back. That is where another garden spot will be employed next year after the chickens get done preparing the soil this year.

The hens kill all the grass dig holes to dust bathe in the top soil, eat every cut worm bugs and small creature that dares invade their realm. When the grass is all gone in the run I clean out the winters deep litter. That invites worm into their run which cuts down on my feed bill. I throw in all my grass clippings when I mow the lawn. i bought a bagger for my lawn tractor expensive at the time but was a wise investment. They scratch and dig through the grass clippings which also helps prepare the garden spot for next year. The fresh chicken poop also enriches the future garden spot on a daily basis.

My garden spot follows my chicken run as I move it from year to year. Cuts down on overall gardening expenses, no comercial fertilizers, completely organic, less tilling and ground preperation, insects (cut worms in particular), weeds, and my plants grow so fast that I have to jump back when planting the seeds for fear that a bean will sprouts so quick it would hit me under the chin and render me unconscious.

 

[kbarnell]

I had the exact same problem...the coop itself is raised 6 inches off the ground for just this situation but it was still a mess. I put some diatrimetris earth in the bottom to soak up as much as the mud as i could...then i took 5 4inch paving stones, threw them in there & covered it with OSB board. the first time the water was so deep at one end everything was floating, After I put down the board got a second rainstorm but the inside hardly got week at all. Best of all it's easier to clean than dirt. after the rain storm before I put the board back in I sprinkled PDZ & DE on the bottom and no more smell. hope that helps




Kay