My chicken run now has a roof! Need ideas...

[penkwolf]

Hi everyone,

My chicken run now has a roof because here in England we get lots of rain!!

The chicken run is around 12 foot by 8 foot wide.

Currently, even though I have a roof on it, due to the current climate, the mud is still quite 'clumpy and wet'. I have ordered a tonne of wood chippings to put down in the run but im worried if I put this on top of the current mud it will just soak up and get muddy and horrible.

Any ideas of what I could do? Someone mentioned putting sheeting down over the mud before the wood chippings, others mentioned pea gravel and then wood chippings over the top. Both of these would mean no worms or bugs etc I would imagine as these would be in the mud below? I also worry about no natural drainage if I am covering the earth below with a sheet etc.

Any thoughts of what I could do, or if you think it will be fine would be great.

I am also going to add a dust bath, swings and a few ladders and perches etc for them.

Thanks!

 

[3KillerBs]

Just put the chips down.

Absorbing the water from the mud is what they're supposed to do. Then, because they're well-aerated and non-packing they will dry.

In the meantime, the poop and the shavings, aided by the moisture, will begin the composting process to break down poop.

 

[SpotTheCat]

Hi everyone,

My chicken run now has a roof because here in England we get lots of rain!!

The chicken run is around 12 foot by 8 foot wide.

Currently, even though I have a roof on it, due to the current climate, the mud is still quite 'clumpy and wet'. I have ordered a tonne of wood chippings to put down in the run but im worried if I put this on top of the current mud it will just soak up and get muddy and horrible.

Any ideas of what I could do? Someone mentioned putting sheeting down over the mud before the wood chippings, others mentioned pea gravel and then wood chippings over the top. Both of these would mean no worms or bugs etc I would imagine as these would be in the mud below? I also worry about no natural drainage if I am covering the earth below with a sheet etc.

Any thoughts of what I could do, or if you think it will be fine would be great.

I am also going to add a dust bath, swings and a few ladders and perches etc for them.

Thanks!

I found my roofed quail aviary was getting wet because the rain was going in the sides, I ended up putting clear plastic on the side the rain was getting in.
could you do something like that?
And wood chips helped.

 

[black_cat]

Whenever I have issues with a muddy run, I just add a heck ton of dry material- wood chips, shavings, leaves, straw, sand, dry dirt, etc, and mix it all around until I'm happy with it.

 

[3KillerBs]

PS, once the bedding is down and the now-protected run has had a little time to dry, the chickens will happily dig their own dustbaths.

Chipotle at work after 3 dry days in a row.

Somewhere under the flying dirt is a California White! (This is the same hen. All of those black bits are dirt from her dustbath).

 

[penkwolf]

Thank you all! Some great pics too!

I hadnt thought about putting straw in the run too. Maybe i put a mixture of wood chippings and straw down?

My tonne of wood chippings is coming tomorrow but i just dont want to waste them if putting them on the current mudbath would wreck them.

Chickens in the uk are currently in lockdown too due to avian flu but now the run is roofed and bird proofed all the way around i can let them out safely once ive got their run finished!

 

[3KillerBs]

No, mud won't wreck the wood chips. They're one of the go-to solutions for mud.

Straw isn't as good as the chips for mud, but I personally like a mix of materials. I use intact straw bales as wind baffles but the one DH bought for me Monday fell apart when a string broke so I spread the flakes around in various spots that needed a little more bedding.

 

[woodworm]

Wood chips will be fine. I'm in Wales and the patch of grass we built our run on (18 x 8) was 'squelchy' before we started and then we added wood chip - now the run (with roof) is completed it's dry (aside from sideways rain) and it's completely fine.

This pic was taken last week - 4 months after introducing the chooks - I rake it once a weekish

 

[aart]

Currently, even though I have a roof on it, due to the current climate, the mud is still quite 'clumpy and wet'.

Is there run off going into the area?
Any standing water in there?

 

[jonalisa]

Hi everyone,

My chicken run now has a roof because here in England we get lots of rain!!

The chicken run is around 12 foot by 8 foot wide.

Currently, even though I have a roof on it, due to the current climate, the mud is still quite 'clumpy and wet'. I have ordered a tonne of wood chippings to put down in the run but im worried if I put this on top of the current mud it will just soak up and get muddy and horrible.

Any ideas of what I could do? Someone mentioned putting sheeting down over the mud before the wood chippings, others mentioned pea gravel and then wood chippings over the top. Both of these would mean no worms or bugs etc I would imagine as these would be in the mud below? I also worry about no natural drainage if I am covering the earth below with a sheet etc.

Any thoughts of what I could do, or if you think it will be fine would be great.

I am also going to add a dust bath, swings and a few ladders and perches etc for them.

Thanks!

Sand is the way to go, in my opinion. I've used sand in my 12x16' covered run for 10 years... And it has been practically maintenance free.