My run plan...sound good?

[riftnreef]

OK...I'm planning my run to be built in the next few weeks as the weather improves...here is what I have in mind. I was thinking about building a base of landscaping timbers to about 1 1/2' tall. I will then fill the void with sand and gravel. On top of the timbers I will build a run of 2x4's and hardware cloth and attatch it to them. I am doing this to prevent a muddy smelly mess. I tow a tight line with those in my neighborhood, and I don't want a funky run to cause problems. So, here are the questions. Should I bother to put a layer of soil on top of the gravel/sand, or just leave it as is? In my mind, the whole reason for a large run is for the birds to scratch and graze a bit...but that will not happen without some dirt. I feel this step is necessary as my yard tends to get a bit "swampy" in the early spring when the snow melts and the rain comes. In the summer I can let them free range the yard on weekends when I'm home, but at this point, the run will just be a place for them to get some sun and out of the coop...thoughts/advice?

 

[patandchickens]

Your overall plan of creating a slightly raised run to prevent mud and flood, with a sandy/gravelly fill, is certainly a good one to follow.

In a few details though you might want to consider some modifications. 1.5' high is really pretty tall -- not only is that going to require buying and moving Quite A Lot of fill, it is also (more importantly) a nontrivial engineering challenge to keep the sleeper walls from just busting apart under the pressure and weight of all that material wantin' to slump sideways. Even just a 6" wall will need tying down Really Well, although not nearly to the degree a taller one would. And honestly I do not think that there is any reason to raise the run more than 6" or so (ish) above surrounding soil level, unless the area is prone to deep flooding and if it IS then honestly you are in trouble no matter how ya slice it.

One thing to look into for aggregate to fill the raised run with would be "roadbase" or whatever it is locally called where you are (here it is apparently technically "A aggregate" <shrug>) -- it is generally about the cheapest aggregate that you can buy in bulk, a mixture of everything from dirt through sand through small gravel to large gravel. It drains good, is pretty easy on feet (unless maybe your local version has *sharp* rather than rounded gravel) and doesn't cost much. It's the stuff they use to make the foundation of roads, and to make dirt (gravel) roads/driveways.
If there aren't any aggregate co's in your area that will deliver a residential-sized load, then choose either sand, or sand and smallish not-sharp gravel.

Chickens can still scratch and dustbathe in any of this, no necessity for adding dirt. There won't be much in the way of bugs or plants growing in it, but there won't be much in the way of bugs or plants growing in a typical earthen chicken run *either*. Bugs will still wander in from adjacent lawn, and worms come up from underground; and you can toss safe-type plant material into the run for your chickens' enjoyment. If mud is a concern, I would recommend staying away from really fine small stuff, and removing it before it becomes too well incorporated itno the footing... but with a raised run, this will be less of an issue than if it were on grade.

One last small comment, maybe it's already the way you're planning it and I'm misunderstanding the phrasing but you will probably want to sink the posts for the run FIRST, *then* put in the retaining wall of landscaping timbers and the fill and the run wire and suchlike. And don't rely on the landscape timbers for preventing predators from digging in -- you will still need buried wire or (my preference) a horizontally-laid apron of wire.

With the good forethought and "preventive engineering" you're putting into this, I think you will be pretty pleased with the result and its ability to stay dry and as unsmelly and un-fly-y as possible

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[riftnreef]

The area is not so much flood prone, but the soil tends to hold some water for a period. I was thinking of making it as deep as I was to prevent the birds from just digging down to the soil. I think the average landscaping timber is about 4" ...maybe some as thick as 6". I don't have much in the way of predators where I'm at...more sky borne than anything, and the covered run should eliminate any problems there. Any way...if the timbers are 4", I would think two of them to keep the chickens from being able to scratch their way to the bare soil? I had planned on joining the timbers by offsetting them and and drilling a 1" hole with a dowel for strength. I'm not much in the way of an engineer so I may have to rethink that one. So...If I go with a raise gravel run...would I be able to just clean it out with a garden hose?

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

You could run a French drain underneath the run and out to some low point elsewhere. Then do sand/gravel in the run and the water will drain out nicely.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Well, no real harm in them digging down to the soil if they want to, provided the general surface of the run is distinctly above grade (and 6" would be quite sufficient for that).

I don't have much in the way of predators where I'm at...more sky borne than anything

Just as a note, unless your yard is 100% 6'-privacy-fenced and you can guarantee the gate will never be left open, there are always stray dogs to consider (they're probably the major daytime predator, possibly even before hawks, and they're *everywhere*); and thre are plenty of raccoons in SW Ohio (I lived in Miami, NW of Hamilton, for a couple years); and you never know when rats may want to move in and it is really best that they find things not *too* welcoming

.if the timbers are 4", I would think two of them to keep the chickens from being able to scratch their way to the bare soil? I had planned on joining the timbers by offsetting them and and drilling a 1" hole with a dowel for strength. I'm not much in the way of an engineer so I may have to rethink that one.

[

That sounds like a perfectly reasonable start. Reinforce them (against spreading apart) by pinning rebar down through them at several-foot intervals all along each side, and/or by setting them on the insides of your (well-set) fenceposts, and you should be good, for that height.

So...If I go with a raise gravel run...would I be able to just clean it out with a garden hose?

If it is all gravel, you could hose if you wanted. (Probably no need except in dry periods, though). If it is a sandier mix, which would be more chickenfriendly, you can use a fine-toothed rake or stall fork, or actually you may well find that much of the time the poo just kind of disappears on its own, between drying up and washing down in.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat​

 

[gsim]

Do not use landscape timbers. Too expensive. Go to Ace Hardware, co-op, Home Improvement stores, etc and buy RR ties, usually $7 each. Drill and stake into place. This will be 8" tall and if that is not enough to drain properly, you have a real problem area and could be the whole yard needs to be filled and raised. That can kill trees too, so that is a real problem if you do it. If just RR ties will work for you, them fill with 1" to 2" rock first to 6", then with coarse #10 sand over the top of that. You will have real drainage this way. You can even space permitting, do a small frame of 2x2's pr treated and stretch hardware cloth mesh over that to cover a dirt area seeded thickly with bluegrass. Chooks cannot rip it up, but can have a renewable supply of fresh live grass to eat in their run. I would leave the rest of the run just the coarse sand topping. Easy to clean up poop and put in garden, under bushes, or in compost. If you have a big enough space the run will not need to be cleaned up so often. Make the run tall enough to walk into. You will not regret it.

 

[riftnreef]

Good idea with the hardware cloth over a grass area...I will try to incorperate a section like that somewhere...thanks!