Muddy Run Solutions?

[Kingheman]

Hi everyone,

I live in eastern Georgia and was fortunate to buy a family farm which had only been idle for about 5 years before we purchased it.
The coop we already had is 16x10, divided in half. There's an enclosed run, also divided (basically is two coups and two runs side by side) running out from the coup which are each about 20x8 and 8 feet high.
The coups are not covered, and are turning into a muddy, boggy mess. My girls are all getting muddy feet and we've started to get flies out there also.
I don't have any water draining into the runs (roof drains away from run), it's all from rain and is running away from the coup, but we have such clay soil here it's very muddy.
Any suggestions on what I could put down in the runs to make them more useful for the girls? I'm not opposed to covering the runs, but I am a big fan of sun and air and the girls have really enjoyed sunbathing in the summer. I hate to take that away by covering the run, and any covering will have to be angled etc to resist pooling. basically, big PIA. I'd rather put time and energy into working on the runs to get them better suited to the climate than just throwing a roof over it.

I see lots of ideas from folks in these threads, but most solutions call for 'dry soil'. Our soil isn't dry much of the year, which is great for the garden but not great for mud-avoidance.

Thanks for your help everyone!
Rebekah

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Straw. Leaves. Whatever you've got that you can lay down thick.

Can you tarp the run or part of it so they have a dry/ier section during the rainy season?

 

[Kingheman]

I put down straw and now have flies to go with the mud. Any other suggestions?

 

[sphinxface]

We built a small covered area where they can hang out in if they wanna get out of the sun or rain, I don't know if it will fix mud anywhere except where you cover, but I think it's a good idea to give them the option of being out of the rain, especially if your coop is small like ours- they don't really hang out in there except to sleep or lay eggs.

 

[PapaChaz]

I'm having very similar problems with water from all this rain. I've been adding wood chips I managed to get a tree company to dump at the edge of the yard. I'm not really having any issues with flies though.

I am building the run up a few inches at a time with the wood chips though. If the weather will ever break enough to allow it, I'll put the blade on the tractor and make sure I have some more drainage to get the water out of there as quick as possible

 

[RonP]

If you have access to wood chips, put them down about a foot deep.

Just keep adding until the top 3 or 4 inches are dry.

Add when needed, the birds will love you for it...

 

[RavenClawPekin6]

Would you put the wood chips all around the run or just in a certain place then move on?

 

[lindsay750]

I'm in England... So lots of wet weather! We decided to build a coop with lockable/fox proof run, the floor of this is hard core, with rubber matting on top, we then add chopped straw so that they have a dry area. In the day they roam in mud etc. but can have a dry option.

 

[Cluckies]

I'd cover the run, they still get alot of sun, unless it is directly over head. Or at least part of the run, maybe the first half by the henhouse, my girls spend 99 percent of there time in the shade by choice...

 

[ChickenMammX4]

When we first got our chicks I didn't envision a covered run, I too was thinking open air & sunshine but Hubs had different ideas. I'm so glad we went with his suggestion. With all the rain we had this spring & summer and our clay soil, we would have been left with a smelly, muddy mess. Our run stays dry, odor and fly free. There are still sunny areas for sun bathing, depending on the time of day, but the girls are out of the weather. and direct sun. Our run is a mixture of grass clippngs, straw & pine shavings. If it dioes get a little wet around the edges, I fluff it with a stall fork. IMO, a covered run is necessary unless you live in a dry, sandy soil area.