Our coop is nearly finished!

[Chick Norris]

I don't think your problem can be solved with gravel or sand as long as your gutter downspout is pointed right at the coop area. I would put an extension on the downspout to direct water away from the area. If the coop is not at the lowest point in your yard, the water should not backtrack to your coop area.

 

[pawsplus]

They can peck in sand, too! Trust me--dirt gets SO INCREDIBLY NASTY. Wait until Winter--you'll curse yourself. I finally got fed up--there is truly nothing nastier than mud + chicken poop and you CANNOT separate one from the other. It's certainly not healthy for them, either! Now I can sift poop out w/ my special poop sifter and things will stay nice. And NO MUD!! WHOO HOO.

 

[pawsplus]

Quote:
Well, that's true, LOL. It will STILL get muddy though--trust me.

 

[Chick Norris]

I totally agree with you, pawsplus. I just meant that to completely solve the problem, the water issue should be controlled too.

Quote:
Well, that's true, LOL. It will STILL get muddy though--trust me.

 

[TingChickens]

Adorable

 

[srfjeld]

Quote:
Good point. And we've already thought of that. The one in the picture that comes off our house barely does anything, but we'll redirect it anyway. The problem is the drain spout that comes from the bldg next door. We'll just have to reroute that one, too.

 

[itsmechrissy]

My girls love pecking the sand too! They seem to have fun kicking it around and rolling around in it too...It works just like dirt in that regard but I think there's better drainage overall.