The only time I'd consider locking them in is if you're facing truly adverse weather conditions - a hurricane, flooding, etc. My run flooded twice last year to a depth of about 4" so the chickens were locked up until the water had receded/absorbed into the soil so that there were drier patches to walk on, about 48 hrs.
Doesn't look that bad, though your boots would be able to tell the story. The mud in my run got so bad at one point that it pulled the boots off my feet when I tried to walk through.
Many cartloads of wood chips later and it's about as stable as it was before chickens. It's not an instant fix but it does work decently fast by absorbing surface moisture, providing drainage to the soil below, and allowing aeration (which will help fix stink issues).
Doesn't look that bad, though your boots would be able to tell the story. The mud in my run got so bad at one point that it pulled the boots off my feet when I tried to walk through.
Many cartloads of wood chips later and it's about as stable as it was before chickens. It's not an instant fix but it does work decently fast by absorbing surface moisture, providing drainage to the soil below, and allowing aeration (which will help fix stink issues).
