Outside run flooring question

[MichellesChickens]

My outside chicken runs are currently just dirt with some small stone, just what was there before I had chickens. There is currently no roof over it, did tell my husband I would like a roof over it before summer is over. In the mean time what would be a good ground cover to help control spring mud? Located in NW Ohio. I was thinking maybe some bark mulch?

 

[Ridgerunner]

What is your soil like, sand or clay? Probably something in between. if it is mostly sand you probably won't have much of a problem. If it is clay you probably will. In feet, how big is that run? When it rains does water stand or run off?

It's not so much the ground cover as where does the water go when it rains. You want it to go away. If you are in a low spot with soil that holds the water you have a problem. If it drains well you may be OK. Before you can come up with a good solution you need to know your drainage. If it drains well almost anything will work. If water stands nothing will totally solve the problem without work. For me to offer what I'd think a helpful suggestion I'd need to know something about your soil type and how well it drains and something about drainage.

 

[MichellesChickens]

Would say it leans toward clay, but my husband did add some fresh top soil to it last year that gets extra slippery, I have shoveled much of that out. Seems to stay somewhat damp on the top, but no standing water except where the girls have dug dust bath spots. In the winter it doesn't get much direct sun to dry it out, it's in the shade of the barn, with longer days it should start to get more. Approx. 20' x 18'.

 

[Shadrach]

How muddy are we talking about?
Worse than this?

Not quite as bad like this?

The only lasting solution is proper drainage. A french drain, or even pea gravel sink holes strategically placed works but it's labour intensive but relatively cheap to do.
Bark mulch is a definite no because of the way it decays; it grows stuff that may not be healthy for the chickens and it won't last long.
If you're going for a cover it up rather than fix, then hardwood chips are standard here in the UK.

The pictures above are of what I inherited when I started looking after these chickens. The ground in the run had years of chicken droppings giving a chicken shite top layer. The rain fell and rather than sinking into the soil, it sat on the surface because the soil was compacted and now coated with a chicken dropping sealant.

At the time, digging in a French drain wasn't an option, nor was a pea gravel sink at the top of the ground slope.
I dug the run. I dug 12 inches to 14 inches deep turning the top layer into the soil below. I still get puddles but they drain reasonably well; leveling the ground properly would stop this. The rest of the ground in the run has stayed acceptable, comparable to the ground outside after a lot of rain on already saturated ground.

If you have space and the trees, collecting leaves in the autumn and dry storing them makes an excellent temporay cover up and also improves the soil once rotted in. I dig the run over a couple of times a year.

I'm in the South West of the UK and we get a lot of rain.

 

[MichellesChickens]

How muddy are we talking about?
Worse than this?
View attachment 3768775
Not quite as bad like this?
View attachment 3768776

The only lasting solution is proper drainage. A french drain, or even pea gravel sink holes strategically placed works but it's labour intensive but relatively cheap to do.
Bark mulch is a definite no because of the way it decays; it grows stuff that may not be healthy for the chickens and it won't last long.
If you're going for a cover it up rather than fix, then hardwood chips are standard here in the UK.

The pictures above are of what I inherited when I started looking after these chickens. The ground in the run had years of chicken droppings giving a chicken shite top layer. The rain fell and rather than sinking into the soil, it sat on the surface because the soil was compacted and now coated with a chicken dropping sealant.

At the time, digging in a French drain wasn't an option, nor was a pea gravel sink at the top of the ground slope.
I dug the run. I dug 12 inches to 14 inches deep turning the top layer into the soil below. I still get puddles but they drain reasonably well; leveling the ground properly would stop this. The rest of the ground in the run has stayed acceptable, comparable to the ground outside after a lot of rain on already saturated ground.

If you have space and the trees, collecting leaves in the autumn and dry storing them makes an excellent temporay cover up and also improves the soil once rotted in. I dig the run over a couple of times a year.

I'm in the South West of the UK and we get a lot of rain.

More damp, then went like that. I think some of it is the soil my husband added last year, that makes it slippery.

 

[Shadrach]

More damp, then went like that. I think some of it is the soil my husband added last year, that makes it slippery.

Deep dig it over and see how it goes.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Worse than Shadrach's! Wow! Still, he has been through it so had decent advice.

I still don't know your drainage patterns. Covering it will stop rainwater from falling down on it but will not stop rainwater runoff going in. If it is a low spot that collects water it can be hard.

If it gets that wet you might want to add more dirt to mound it up so the water will drain somewhere. Many people that do that then cover it with sand or some type of bedding. You might try berms and/or swales to direct rainwater runoff away from the run. If you have a low spot nearby you might try a French drain to draw water off or the run. In smaller runs some people add bedding like straw which helps for a while but them remove that wet straw to compose it and add more. To me, that is inefficient but it works for some.

 

[aart]

Yup, berms and swales and drains, then coarse wood chippings for bedding did the trick here.

 

[MichellesChickens]

Mistype on my part "More damp, then went like that." that should have read "more damp then wet". I've been thinking the advice to re dig it is best. Just have to figure out what to use for that, don't have a tiller.

 

[aart]

I've been thinking the advice to re dig it is best. Just have to figure out what to use for that, don't have a tiller.

If you add coarse wood chippings you won't need to dig anything.