Muddy run

[llombardo]

Make sure you have some bigger wood chunks in there too...
...too many leaves can make for a slimy smelly mess. BTDT.

Yep I got some of that ready to go too. Just have to time it right. Letting the grass grow and will cut it one more time.

 

[aart]

Yep I got some of that ready to go too. Just have to time it right. Letting the grass grow and will cut it one more time.

Can put the wood down first then the other stuff on top, it will sift down with help from the birds.

 

[Mountain_Miss]

What @Mountain_Miss described, deep litter in the run works great.

View attachment 1537927

I remember that picture.. believe I've read some of your previous posts about this (along with a handful of other users). Thanks for the inspiration and knowledge!

 

[snow5164]

What’s in your coop? If you’re cleaning out shavings or straw add it to the run .As said above grass or wood chips.

A few pallets which are often free at vet clinics or lumber yards is a good idea.

A few tree stumps with branches across from one to another gives them a pace to perch .

You could buy a few bags of sand or gravel ...

Good luck
Cold wet feet aren’t fun for anyone

This play structure is all from fallen logs

 

[Noreaster Egger]

I kept bulding mine up with free wood chips...either from friends or people on CL. I throw other material in there as well, but the wood chips are what keep the run “afloat” during muddy times and they absorb quite a bit of excess water when starting off dry.

 

[Melky]

I recently had to contend with a muddy run after the ladies scratched all the grass down to nothing (had been waiting for that day to come.. ha!) I read a handful of posts on here that refer to making your run similar to a forest floor and it makes total sense. Utilized pine bark nuggets and cypress mulch, along with some dried, fallen leaves from around my property. Dumped everything inside the run, with some random sticks/twigs, dried grass, plant trimmings. Lots of different things and sizes to facilitate drainage.

We just had 2 days of solid rain from Hurricane Florence leftovers and the uncovered run looks SO much better. It dries out quickly on top and the ladies love to scratch in it and turn the material over.. incorporating their poop too, so zero smell. They're no longer tromping around in consistently wet mud. And as Autumn carries on, I'll continue to add mulched leaves and grass clippings and maybe even try to save some for over winter.

This is what I switched to last week pine mulch that is fine or nuggets (garden mulch) not the animal bedding. I’m throwing in dry leaves from fall. Smell so much better. No muddy watery mess when it rains. My kitty scooper scoops out the waste easily and it goes in my compost pile for the gardens. My hens love it to duste bathe in it and no more poopy muddy run. Plus I am losing less ground by erosion this way from their scratching. I don’t know why I didn’t switch sooner.

 

[aart]

I kept bulding mine up with free wood chips...either from friends or people on CL. I throw other material in there as well, but the wood chips are what keep the run “afloat” during muddy times and they absorb quite a bit of excess water when starting off dry.

Yes!!
....and provide a base balance when other more 'fragile' materials are added.