Need help for a run on a sloped yard

[Buffy-Featherington]

I sympathize, we are also on a slope and have a lot of rain. We don’t have as much clay as NC but it doesn’t take too much digging to hit clay.

Ended up putting a roof over the run, there’s just no way to escape mud where we are without cover. You can see my comment history for a photo. Used Palram Suntuf panels. It wasn’t cheap, but likely would be comparable to putting in a wood floor for the equivalent area.

 

[Boxlock]

You could easily do some terracing!

Yes! Hire someone with a small tractor with a small terrace soil mover. They can easily move higher ground soil to lower ground to level it out!
You’re welcome!

 

[PaigeWells]

Western NC on the side of a mountain here… I have a yard that is very sloped, a tree fell nearby (thanks, Helene) and I rolled 2 large 10’ logs into place sideways and pounded stakes downhill from them to make free terracing (without digging). I throw any weeds from the garden, some of what I clean out of my run, etc on the uphill side. Over a few months the high side has leveled off with the sides of the logs creating sort of a stairstep. I plan to add more logs in the future above and below, eventually my logs will rot but that will just add to the soil. If you did anything to divert water (great suggestions in this thread), tried to add a roof if at all possible to help it stay dry, and did this terracing you might be good. Eventually things are going to get scratched downhill but you can always throw shovelsful uphill occasionally. Good luck!

 

[gtaus]

I hope you can post a picture of your sloped chicken coop and run. Pictures can help a lot in these situations where you are asking for help. But, let me post a Google picture of what I imagine you are dealing with and add a few comments that I hope might be helpful.

Here is a Google picture of a coop and run on a slope...

Let me state that I converted my entire chicken run into a chicken run composting system. I will dump loads of leaves, grass clippings, wood chips, etc... and the chickens will level everything out. Having said that, my ground is level to begin with.

However, in your case, if anything like the picture above, I would suggest doing something the same. If you started dumping compostable litter into the run, the chickens would naturally level it out for you. Over time, the downside hill portion of the run would build up and your run will level out naturally. That's just how gravity and chickens would work together. As long as you have that litter confined by wood, cement, or wire, the chicken run litter should level out on it's own. Then you, and your chickens, would have a nice flat run to enjoy.

I don't disagree with all the comments about adding drainage but let me tell you about my experience using chicken run compost litter that is about 18 inches deep. When it rains heavy, the water just runs through my litter and does not cause any problems. It's like a built-in natural drainage field. All those leaves, grass clippings, wood chips, etc... are firm enough for me to walk on top of in then chicken run. Even when wet.

In the picture of the coop and run on a slope, I would imagine the water running down into the chicken run compost litter and naturally draining out the bottom but leaving the run basically level.

Using compostable materials and your chicken run fencing (wire, wood, cement) to confine it would be a way to terrace the run without have to resort to using heavy equipment or shovels to level off the dirt. Just let the compost litter find its own level.

I get more value of my chicken run compost than I do selling our excess eggs. I create and process hundreds of dollars' worth of compost every year in my chicken run that I use in my raised bed gardens. In many ways, your sloped chicken run would be better for making compost than my level chicken run field. You would only have to dump the litter material on the high side of the run and the litter would naturally migrate downslope over time, composting all the time. Then you could easily harvest the finished compost at the bottom of the run. Just let the chickens scratch and peck that litter and move it along with gravity. It's a built-in compost conveyor belt!

If something like making chicken run compost is in your future, I would add some kind of access (door, gate, removable panel) on the bottom of the hill so you can easily harvest the finished compost.

Anyways, I am a flat lander and would love to hear what other people think of my composting idea to level the chicken run idea would work on a slope. I just know that I can build heaps of leaves, grass clippings, or wood chips in my chicken run and the chickens will level everything out in no time. I think it would work the same way on a slope, with more litter building up faster on the downside of the run. You would not have to move soil with heavy machines or manual shovels. That saves a lot of work. The chicken run fencing can act as your terracing barrier.

I think it would work. In any case, I wish you luck. Hope you can post a picture of what your setup looks like and maybe others will have more thoughts for you.

 

[BDutch]

Make terraces like on a pathway, as wide as the run.

If you use the right kind of wood this last a very long time.

 

[Mok]

Our run is on a pretty deep slope and it’s driving me crazy! We live in NC so we have clay ground and it’s awful. Has anyone built a wood floor to level it out? I’m thinking about building a wood floor and covering that with sand. Any thing we put down as the base in the run washes away due to the slope and we are left with clay again. It’s impossible to clean and starting to smell. It gets no sun so when it rains for days it takes forever to dry. My poor girls get so dirty. Just looking for ways to help the situation while I dream of a flat yard

If you can get, plastic pallets use those, regular pallets, wit boards on top, you could salvage from construction sites work, but no matter what wood will rot

 

[Boxlock]

I hope you can post a picture of your sloped chicken coop and run. Pictures can help a lot in these situations where you are asking for help. But, let me post a Google picture of what I imagine you are dealing with and add a few comments that I hope might be helpful.

Here is a Google picture of a coop and run on a slope...

View attachment 4202124


Let me state that I converted my entire chicken run into a chicken run composting system. I will dump loads of leaves, grass clippings, wood chips, etc... and the chickens will level everything out. Having said that, my ground is level to begin with.

However, in your case, if anything like the picture above, I would suggest doing something the same. If you started dumping compostable litter into the run, the chickens would naturally level it out for you. Over time, the downside hill portion of the run would build up and your run will level out naturally. That's just how gravity and chickens would work together. As long as you have that litter confined by wood, cement, or wire, the chicken run litter should level out on it's own. Then you, and your chickens, would have a nice flat run to enjoy.

I don't disagree with all the comments about adding drainage but let me tell you about my experience using chicken run compost litter that is about 18 inches deep. When it rains heavy, the water just runs through my litter and does not cause any problems. It's like a built-in natural drainage field. All those leaves, grass clippings, wood chips, etc... are firm enough for me to walk on top of in then chicken run. Even when wet.

In the picture of the coop and run on a slope, I would imagine the water running down into the chicken run compost litter and naturally draining out the bottom but leaving the run basically level.

Using compostable materials and your chicken run fencing (wire, wood, cement) to confine it would be a way to terrace the run without have to resort to using heavy equipment or shovels to level off the dirt. Just let the compost litter find its own level.

I get more value of my chicken run compost than I do selling our excess eggs. I create and process hundreds of dollars' worth of compost every year in my chicken run that I use in my raised bed gardens. In many ways, your sloped chicken run would be better for making compost than my level chicken run field. You would only have to dump the litter material on the high side of the run and the litter would naturally migrate downslope over time, composting all the time. Then you could easily harvest the finished compost at the bottom of the run. Just let the chickens scratch and peck that litter and move it along with gravity. It's a built-in compost conveyor belt!

If something like making chicken run compost is in your future, I would add some kind of access (door, gate, removable panel) on the bottom of the hill so you can easily harvest the finished compost.

Anyways, I am a flat lander and would love to hear what other people think of my composting idea to level the chicken run idea would work on a slope. I just know that I can build heaps of leaves, grass clippings, or wood chips in my chicken run and the chickens will level everything out in no time. I think it would work the same way on a slope, with more litter building up faster on the downside of the run. You would not have to move soil with heavy machines or manual shovels. That saves a lot of work. The chicken run fencing can act as your terracing barrier.

I think it would work. In any case, I wish you luck. Hope you can post a picture of what your setup looks like and maybe others will have more thoughts for you.

What a beautiful coop and run! Wish I had it! Good job, sloping doesn’t look so bad, gives the little darlings some hill to exercise on!

 

[EggyErin]

I have a large, sloped yard full of GA clay so everything migrates downhill. I use logs here and there to slow things down plus wood chips, barn bedding, and leaves and twigs (lots of trees in yard) to enrich and build up. The fencing catches most of it. Some day it might get leveled out. If your run size is manageable, you might lay down a heavy landscape fabric to keep the clay down, then put your scratchable stuff on top. If you decide to rake it out as compost it will be easier.

 

[BDutch]

If you can get, plastic pallets use those, regular pallets, wit boards on top, you could salvage from construction sites work, but no matter what wood will rot

Plastic deteriorates too and falls into microplastics. Much worse for the environment and everyones health.

We often use robinia pseudoscacia for constructions in the soil/water. It has a natural compound that makes keeps the wood from rotting. You do need stainless steel screws to attach the slats. Bc simple iron screws or nails rust very fast in this wood.
Chestnut wood is okay too.
No paint!

 

[Boxlock]

Whatever you do, do NOT add sand to the mix! You’d end up with concrete!