Pacific Northwesterners - I need your input! Preparing for the rain.

[calista]

I followed the advice here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=833031

You have a nice set-up there! Good for you in trying to do the best by your birds.

 

[justbugged]

I wouldn't bother trying to get the grass to re-grow again. Chicken manure is to hot and chickens will just scratch the roots of the grass plants until you have nothing again. The only way to keep your grass is to keep the chickens off of the grass most of the time. This is why the chicken tractor was invented.

So getting the run covered, and or getting a base down in the run is the way to go here. I picked sand for the base in my coop. I can pick up a bag or 6 of play sand and carry it in my car home. I then will add it as needed to keep the puddle covered up. (I had the first load delivered from a concrete mixing company.) Others have used large gravel. I can't speak from experience but that seemed like the gravel was going to be to difficult to maintain on the long term. Anything that is used will sooner than later have to be maintained. (Think digging up and out.)

The worst thing we tried was wood shavings and straw. Both items break down quickly in the rain and start composting quickly. That layer of material stinks very badly.

I keep wondering what concrete would be like. My thought is a concrete pad with a catch basin at one end. That way I could walk in with a hose, and hose it down. It would be clean again without a lot of effort. I do know that is my most favorite part of a new patio that was poured this past summer. I must say that not only do I dislike padding around in the mud, but I don't care much for putting down scraps of food for the girls directly into the dirty sand/mud/waste. I have a couple of litter pans that are easy enough to wash out, but still

I don't know what changed I used to do it like that years ago, and my sister still does.

I just got to thinking about my sisters set up, and realized that she and her DH put most if not all of their yard and kitchen waste into the run. They use their run as their compost bin. The girls keep it turned and tilled enough that about once a year they pull it out and dress the gardens around their home with it. They have rather nice flower and vegetable gardens to say the least.


I would also post this on the Oregon and Washington Threads. Index - Where am I? Where are you! - Oregon or Washington. These threads are going to be your best resource for our climate. Without living west of the Cascades, it is very hard to understand the climate. Both of the state threads are very active, and this is a topic that comes up fairly often.

 

[yomama]

I live in Molalla and just posted same question a bit ago

Alot of the responses I got were sand and gravel. I too used straw last year, only winter I have had chickens so far, and man it was gross. I have no drainage whatsoever, as well as a duck, so you could imagine the mess. My issue isn't so bad, because my chickens and duck free range during the day. Still, I want a nice run. I have a large tarp over one end. It is attatched to the roof and sides of the run with zip ties. I intended it for shade, if the chickens had to be confined in there, but it has worked wonderfully for keeping that section dry too. They make tarps in brown, so it blends much better than a bright blue one. (I'm kind of weird about that stuff)However, I probably would of had the brown on the underside, to hold in heat during the cold temps, and the white on top, as to reflect the sun,during the summer. I've decided, based on the majortity of responses I got, to put down a few inches of sand, then a few inches of pea gravel. Another suggestion, was to dig a drainage ditch around the peremetor(sp?) of the run, so as to let water run off the sides. I would do this, only our ground is rock and clay. Way too hard to do that. I attatched some pics to show you my set up. I have the tarp at an angle, so that the rain can run off, and have a pile of rocks for that water to run onto. I would say, though, that you might want to cosider allowing sunlight in somewhere, so your chickens can sit in the sun, if they want too. Hope this helps!

 

[tedabug]

Wow! Nice big coop! Thanks for all the suggestions. We are urban and tarping anything is not an option. HOA's and all. I'm sure my neighbors love the broken umbrella as it is. I don't know how to get a cover up without touching the house or draining all the rain water into my neighbors yard over the fence. Ha wouldn't they love that! Plus, what you can't see in the picture is the huge arched bay window that shines into our dining room. Bad enough people have to come to dinner and see chickens looking back at them. I'll get on ordering some sand and chips and see what happens.
Thanks for all you help!

 

[gramakoko]

Hi Tedabug,

I'm in Oregon City. There was a thread a few days ago about Stall dry. Wilco has 40 lbs for 13 dollars, and Coastal sells 40 lbs for 15 dollars. I put course sand down inside and out, but I think I'm going to get a couple bags of Stall Dry before the rains set in. I also put pavers around the coop. Home depot sells them for 79 cents each...I'm also considering plexi-glass for that side-ways rain. Have your bog boots ready I guess.

 

[HeritageHens]

Have you tried Best Buy Landscaping in Hillsboro? That's where I get all my stuff because the prices are great. You could always rent a truck from Home Depot for a couple hours and haul this yourself and save a bundle!

http://www.bestbuyintown.biz/portland-or-landscaping-supplies-product-list.htm

 

[geebs]

SAND... I am in Woodburn... bite the bullet and get sand in there.. REALLY THICk and start feeding seeds along with the layer ration and DE along wtih cinnamon... Makes the pooopies solid and easy to clean up...

 

[Iheartchicks<3:)]

bark sand and chips would work.. also gravel

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Do you have any large deciduous trees? Piles of dried leaves may work, but you'd have to have a steady source. Just trying to think of the free route. I use dried leaves in my run, but my run is covered and dry. But I think I read where someone else was using leaves in an uncovered run. The girls smash the leaves up pretty quickly, however, hence the need for a lot of them.

 

[tedabug]

OK, that was one cute coop there Oregon City! The kids aren't too shabby either - adorable. I'm planning on bagging up some dried leaves to use throughout the winter in their covered run. Free is a great price. I like the sounds of that "stall dry". I'm at Coastal all the time and will look into it. I think I'll add some bagged sand and bark chips as well. I was worried leaves out in the uncovered area would get slimy and may be bad for their feet, but Naomi's Organic Garden - my favorite place- uses a deep litter method that looks like it works well.

Thanks so much for all the cool pics and nice suggestions. I'll see what I can come up with!