Need help with my duck run, to hard, to mucky, to nasty!

[RainbowHen]

Would the actually eat them? I can't quite imagine that.....

My ducks loved acorns. We had big oak trees all over our property. They foraged and ate acorns all day long. Never lost a duck to acorns.

 

[NatJ]

I do have a friend who has a mill, and has a large pile of wood chips from his chipper at his house, but they are just chips that have be breaking down, and aren't really gone help with softness I feel like. Plus, I also have a rain, problem, we get ALOT of rain, it will be dry, dry, dry, and then when the rain comes, it comes hard, and everything gets super wet, and it doesn't stop raining for awhile. So, with the chips, I feel like they are just gonna decompose into the ground, and give me mud again.

The free wood chips sound good to me.
When they're partly broken down, they will be softer than when they are fresh.
When it rains, they will soak up some of the water (reduces mud), and by sitting on top of the mud they will keep it a bit cleaner.
Yes, they will eventually break down all the way--so just add more on top regularly.
If you have a garden, you can use the fully rotted/composted ones in the garden.
If no garden, you can just leave it in the duck pen. Yes, it will build up higher, which is good in your case (higher will be more likely to stay dry on top.) But they get smaller as they break down, so even if you pile it up high, it will seem to shrink over time.

(Not a duck person, so not sure how all this interacts with bumblefoot in ducks. Just talking about wood chips, softness, water, mud.)

 

[RainbowHen]

Built up wood chips are much better than mud. They dry out fairly quickly and keep the smell down.

 

[Weeg]

Depending on the type of wood chips? They can be sharp and pointed and could cause more bumble foot issues because or it. Wood chips and wood shavings are two very different things because of how they are made.

The type of wood chips, they are being made up of Hemlock, and Butternut trees. I made sure there was no Cedar. I did check them, and the decomposing factor none of them are really sharp, but they just seem to pack into the ground and not help much with the soft part, and I would need a bunch to get it thick enough, to where it wouldn't turn back into mud.

 

[Weeg]

Just a thought out loud, I know leaves are not a perfect solution but might be better then straw for a cheap ground cover.

Please post pictures, pictures are always helpful. That might spark some ideas from other members that could help your situation. Best of luck.

We have two huge maple trees in our yard, that let down a insane amount of leaves! Both trees are 50+ years old, and in the dry season I raked up the leaves and did put them in there. When it rains though, they just get wet and packed in again, you could use them but they would have not be pared with something else too.

 

[Weeg]

I have been putting as many leaves in my runs as I.can get my hands on.
I keep a leaf rake in the run and fluff it up every morning. I will add wood chips IF I can find them inexpensive and aged.
My run is covered so the leaves are staying mostly dry.

Not sure there is a free(ish) fix for open runs.

Ya, my run isn't covered, it is round and pretty big, covered in fish netting. I tis made up of randomized panels of fencing, so sturdy, but not a good candidate for a roof, sadly. A covered run would solve the muck issue, and in a perfect world, it would be covered.

 

[Weeg]

I'm not sure what part of Washington you live in, but I live in western WA and the rain will be a problem all winter if your run is not covered. Is it possible that you can cover it with something? Even if it was just tarps for the wettest part of the winter, that would help.

I can post pictures in a bit, but it is pretty wonky, and my family hates tarps so that would be a not gone happen kinda deal. In the winter when we et snow and rain, we give up on the run, and most of the time they get out a little bit, but usually in the worst parts they are mostly trapped in there houses because the nett will collapse and they can't go any where. If we did, a roof in the winter, the snow would build up on it, and collapse the whole run. Usually we get snow.

 

[Weeg]

The free wood chips sound good to me.
When they're partly broken down, they will be softer than when they are fresh.
When it rains, they will soak up some of the water (reduces mud), and by sitting on top of the mud they will keep it a bit cleaner.
Yes, they will eventually break down all the way--so just add more on top regularly.
If you have a garden, you can use the fully rotted/composted ones in the garden.
If no garden, you can just leave it in the duck pen. Yes, it will build up higher, which is good in your case (higher will be more likely to stay dry on top.) But they get smaller as they break down, so even if you pile it up high, it will seem to shrink over time.

Okay, this is encouraging. I will just need him to bring a BIG load down, because our run is really mucky right now, we just got a bunch of rain so to keep it from getting muddy again, we will need to give the run a good 2-3 inches of chips. Pictures in a bit.

 

[KaleIAm]

What about a moveable tractor? If you have enough yard space you could move them around frequently, keeping them on fresh unmuddied, uncompacted ground. I think this could solve both your muddy run problem and help with your bumblefoot issues.

I think Cori's suggestion to keep it covered, tractor or not, is also a very good idea.

One thing I have noticed in my aviary is that the higher spots don't get muddy. So perhaps building up your run to be higher than the surrounding areas will allow the water to drain away.

I know my duck palace isn't a practical option for most people, but giving ducks more space seems to be really effective. I have two aviaries and when the grass gets sparse in one I move them into the other aviary and replant the grass in the first. I also keep their straw back a few feet from their barn room doorway so they don't get their bedding too wet. Obviously not an option when one doesn't have the space.

I haven't heard of using leaves before. Do they get moldy?

 

[Weeg]

hat about a moveable tractor? If you have enough yard space you could move them around frequently, keeping them on fresh unmuddied, uncompacted ground. I think this could solve both your muddy run problem and help with your bumblefoot issues.

I think Cori's suggestion to keep it covered, tractor or not, is also a very good idea.

WE already built the big area, and it is easiest because it is safe, and predator proof, and we down has not wry about herding the ducks to the tractor for the day. Covered run, unless we found a way to let the snow drain off some how, would collapse the wheel run because of snow build up in the winter. If I could have a covered run that didn't allow snow to build up, it would be a dream come true and I am all for it!