Planning , and stumped about mud

[Becks Chicks]

We built a coop over the summer with rain in mind. I'm outside of Portland so similar rain issues, and we are on the river so get flooding.

The site we chose ended up flooding right before we started so we knew that we would be dealing with water issues. We chose to add a french drain and then built up the coop area inside the foundation with sand topsoil for good drainage. We also changed the design of our coop to one that sits above the ground. That way, if we do get flooding, the chickens can stay in the hen house and be fine. The run is covered. It gets minimal rain from the sides, but not enough it gets muddy. We filled the run with about 9" of wood chips.

ETA: Looks like we filled in the foundation with topsoil after looking back at my build thread.

 

[David61]

I dug drainage and used tree service wood chips. I can get flooding rains and still be out of the water with no mud. My chips are free and endless. My best friend has a tree service.

 

[SierraView]

I’m in Ca and we’ve had ton of rain. I have a coop that’s in a low area. First year it was so muddy I had to move the chickens out. 10 yrs ago we filled it with 6+ inches of sand, then I lay flakes of straw. I don’t fluff the straw I lay the flakes like tile. Coop and run are also covered and stay dry no mud. I muck alll straw out, put in new straw in spring/fall and compost the straw for the garden.

 

[missmychicks]

We built a coop over the summer with rain in mind. I'm outside of Portland so similar rain issues, and we are on the river so get flooding.

The site we chose ended up flooding right before we started so we knew that we would be dealing with water issues. We chose to add a french drain and then built up the coop area inside the foundation with sand topsoil for good drainage. We also changed the design of our coop to one that sits above the ground. That way, if we do get flooding, the chickens can stay in the hen house and be fine. The run is covered. It gets minimal rain from the sides, but not enough it gets muddy. We filled the run with about 9" of wood chips.

ETA: Looks like we filled in the foundation with topsoil after looking back at my build thread.

Appreciate the tips! We are thinking most of those same things, just not sure we are on enough of a slope for a french drain. Do you find the wood chips work well for you? I know some suggest pine pellets...

 

[SierraView]

I've only used pine pellets in my brooder boxes and nest boxes and they work great for that. If they get wet with as little as a cup of water they swell up and turn to mush so wouldn't recommend those if any water could get on them.

Pine shavings or wood chips could work if its deep like you have it.. The one run where I filled with sand gets wet but not muddy. Its 16' x 20' ft so Pine shavings or wood would be expensive to cover it deep. This is why I used the straw flakes. The straw works very well in my garden also. In February I muck it out by raking all the top dry stuff to the edges of the run and pitch fork out the damp composting straw.. Chickens also free range daily in the winter since I'm not doing any breeding.

 

[Captain13]

I dug trenches about 8 inches deep and two feet wide around my coop site before putting the coop in place. I installed my predator cloth about another six inches in the ground, sloping up to the coop and run. Then I laid cement blocks for the foundation, brought construction sand and filled inside the coop and run blocks.
My area catches a lot of runoff from up a hill. On the low side of the coop and run, I used my tractor and blade to make a swale about seven feet wide. Any water that goes into the trenches is routed around the coop and run and into the swale to continue away from the coop. The run gets rain but it goes right through the sand and drains under the block foundation. This is Georgia so rain and mud (red mud) is the norm here. So far, everything is working fine and the run doesn’t take long to dry out after a rain. Do all your prep work before you build your coop. I did mine a month before the coop and run went in so that I could go through several rain cycles and make tweaks if needed.

 

[3KillerBs]

Do all your prep work before you build your coop. I did mine a month before the coop and run went in so that I could go through several rain cycles and make tweaks if needed.

Superb advice!