Hey all!
I live on a flood plain right off of a large creek. Normally, the creek isn't an issue, but a few weeks ago we had a lot (A LOT) of rain and the creek rose quite a bit. It was a few feet from hitting our back patio (up about 7 or so feet, I think?). Our coop is as sturdy as a rock, and didn't budge an inch despite being under about three feet of water. This happened overnight and the chickens were up on their perches, so they were completely safe. We had a broody hen with 5 chicks at the time, but they were safely evacuated to the bathtub. It took about two weeks for the mud to dry out in the run. It was a freak occurrence, but it still put some bugs into the brains of my fiance and I.
We're going to be expanding the run to add on an extra 16' x 14' section (effectively doubling the footprint of the coop and current run) and when we do that we want to upgrade the substrate in the run itself. We are thinking about using sand in the run, but we're concerned about it getting scummy if it gets wet.
Our plan was to dig down a little over a foot, fill in 6 inches with gravel, cover it with landscaping fabric, and then place 6 inches of sand on top of that. Then, around the coop, we would do an additional foot or so wide trench filled with gravel. Our hope would be that the gravel would help to wick away moisture more quickly, sort of like what's used to dispose of gray water in housing. Would this work? The landscaping fabric would be there to prevent the sand from seeping down into the gravel (so the soft little chicken feets won't get hurt by the sharp gravel!), but still breathe enough to let water move through it. Is there a better way to solve this issue? Looking for insight from folks who are more versed in this than I!
Thanks!
I live on a flood plain right off of a large creek. Normally, the creek isn't an issue, but a few weeks ago we had a lot (A LOT) of rain and the creek rose quite a bit. It was a few feet from hitting our back patio (up about 7 or so feet, I think?). Our coop is as sturdy as a rock, and didn't budge an inch despite being under about three feet of water. This happened overnight and the chickens were up on their perches, so they were completely safe. We had a broody hen with 5 chicks at the time, but they were safely evacuated to the bathtub. It took about two weeks for the mud to dry out in the run. It was a freak occurrence, but it still put some bugs into the brains of my fiance and I.
We're going to be expanding the run to add on an extra 16' x 14' section (effectively doubling the footprint of the coop and current run) and when we do that we want to upgrade the substrate in the run itself. We are thinking about using sand in the run, but we're concerned about it getting scummy if it gets wet.
Our plan was to dig down a little over a foot, fill in 6 inches with gravel, cover it with landscaping fabric, and then place 6 inches of sand on top of that. Then, around the coop, we would do an additional foot or so wide trench filled with gravel. Our hope would be that the gravel would help to wick away moisture more quickly, sort of like what's used to dispose of gray water in housing. Would this work? The landscaping fabric would be there to prevent the sand from seeping down into the gravel (so the soft little chicken feets won't get hurt by the sharp gravel!), but still breathe enough to let water move through it. Is there a better way to solve this issue? Looking for insight from folks who are more versed in this than I!
Thanks!