Planning on just using the dirt that was there for the run, but it is constantly muddy

[jakmak71]

I just built their coop, and we moved it to the spot we wanted it. This is almost the lowest spot in the yard, and we live near a pondy/marshy area. I was wondering if there is any way to dry it out to let them dust bathe and prevent some diseases ?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Coops should always be on a high spot or on a slope. IMHO, a chicken pen in a low spot will always be a muddy mess.
You could build small walls all around the run and fill the area with sand. It would be better to move it though.

 

[jakmak71]

Coops should always be on a high spot or on a slope. IMHO, a chicken pen in a low spot will always be a muddy mess.
You could build small walls all around the run and fill the area with sand. It would be better to move it though.

I might try digging some wood down to make walls, or could i get some dirt and build that area up instead of sand ?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You could use anything that will mound the area. I suggested sand since it drains readily. They'll never have a dustbath until it dries out.

 

[jakmak71]

Okay just regular sand? Or would pea gravel drain? ( i have some extra)

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Pea gravel would be good but won't work as a dust bathing area. You could put a large container filled with dirt, sand, wood ashes, etc. in a covered area that they can use for bathing.

 

[jakmak71]

Okay, thank you for all the advice

 

[vehve]

You could take out the dirt and put the pea gravel in there (possibly together with some french drains if you have anywhere to lead the excess water), and then put the dirt back in there. That would help it keep a bit drier, but like stated earlier, if the coop is in the lowest spot, it's going to gather water. You could also try digging a ditch around the coop, and possibly something resembling a small pond where you would have a big surface area to help the water evaporate.

 

[ChickenPapaCT]

Be careful if you use sand. Make sure it is the "right" sand. Some sand contains silicates which are bad for chickens to eat. I haven't loaded my run yet, but I hear that "playground sand" is not good. I have been reading that you should use construction sand - it is coarse and cheap. I'll try to let you know once I get mine loaded up in a few weeks.

 

[ivan3]

Be careful if you use sand.  Make sure it is the "right" sand.  Some sand contains silicates which are bad for chickens to eat.  I haven't loaded my run yet, but I hear that "playground sand" is not good.  I have been reading that you should use construction sand - it is coarse and cheap.   I'll try to let you know once I get mine loaded up in a few weeks.

Almost all soil/sand contains silicates. To put a hurt on oneself, or one's birds, one would have to dump bags of POOL GRADE Diatomaceous Earth in the dirt bath/run. This is CALCINED DE (heated to melting and crushed into what amounts to tiny glass shards). That DE is NOT AMORPHOUS (food grade), it is ~20% CRYSTALLINE.

Have used Quickrete play & construction sand for nine years and the only time I heard respiratory distress in the turks/chooks (baby monitors) was following a big hail storm in the Spring of `06 (hail tore off all the emerging growth on the Oaks & Hickories here in the woods); with no wind following storm the smell of pine/cedar (limonene) from those `beheaded twigs and branches filled the air, cloying and nearly overpowering . I drooled and sneezed, the turkeys and chickens wheezed.

Considering how much dust the turkeys and chickens `float in' in the fire pit (wood ash/limestone & silica dust, primarily) if there was going to be a problem it should have emerged by now.

Just my observations at this location.