Poopy run!

[Laroux66]

Any kind of netting on ground of run is not good, IMO.
Can cause feet injuries and make it hard to clean if needed.

I just started thinking this, the farm I bought the wood chips from advised the netting to stop the chickens from picking through to the mud and bringing it up into the chips, which clearly hasn't worked. I'm moving them back to grass later and will try to sort out drainage in their usual spot

 

[Laroux66]

Probably....post pics so I can see what you're talking about?
My run has no cover, just a mesh roof.

I'm not home at the moment but this is what it looked like on the day we set it up, before it got muddy! theres an extra metre extension on now and a clear cover the same size as the green one on the rest of the roof. Wondering whether it needs cover on one side.

 

[Laroux66]

I'm not home at the moment but this is what it looked like on the day we set it up, before it got muddy! theres an extra metre extension on now and a clear cover the same size as the green one on the rest of the roof. Wondering whether it needs cover on one side.

Have also got a small bamboo border around the bottom as we quickly learned they love flicking the chips out!

 

[aart]

That's not much cover due to the angled sides.
Might want to cover more and down lower for rainy days.
Are those pine shavings, the kind sold in bags/bales as animal bedding, on the ground? Not too familiar with what's available there or what it's called.
Can you get bigger chippings, like this?

 

[ChickenFlamingo]

Definitely take out the bottom netting. It helps when the chickens can dig and churn up dirt, woodchips and the poop. It will act as a sort of composter. You will need to replace the woodchips every now and then as they compost away.
You will also get woodchips everywhere and massive holes. You start off with good intentions to have everything nice and neat, but chickens think otherwise.

 

[Acre4Me]

You need more varied bedding as described by @aart. You may benefit from raising everything up a bit too. For example, make the bamboo sides taller, fill in with chips/bark, etc to a higher level. Then rain drains through and down further and the sides keep the chips in better. Next, you should shield more of the sides, focusing on the sides that get any prevailing winds that tend to blow rain in.

we had to do this similar approach in our run. So.much.rain this past year, that we were left with poopy mud (yuck and it stank!) so we got a huge load of chipped wood and raised it by 8-10 inches (once it settled). Had to put boards around the fence sides to keep it all in. Then we added to the uncovered side of the run: coarse sand, peat moss, sawdust to make a nice and loose soil for dust bathing.

cute set-up though!

 

[Laroux66]

That's not much cover due to the angled sides.
Might want to cover more and down lower for rainy days.
Are those pine shavings, the kind sold in bags/bales as animal bedding, on the ground? Not too familiar with what's available there or what it's called.
Can you get bigger chippings, like this?

They're just wood chips for chickens, not pine shavings. I'll see if I can get some bigger ones! Thanks again everyone, really appreciate the tips. Will update you hopefully with a story of success!!

 

[aart]

wood chips for chickens

Really curious just how big these are...
...betting the same as what are called pine shavings here in the US.

 

[Laroux66]

That's not much cover due to the angled sides.
Might want to cover more and down lower for rainy days.
Are those pine shavings, the kind sold in bags/bales as animal bedding, on the ground? Not too familiar with what's available there or what it's called.
Can you get bigger chippings, like this?

They're wood chips, no pine shavings. I'll see if I can get some bigger ones!

You need more varied bedding as described by @aart. You may benefit from raising everything up a bit too. For example, make the bamboo sides taller, fill in with chips/bark, etc to a higher level. Then rain drains through and down further and the sides keep the chips in better. Next, you should shield more of the sides, focusing on the sides that get any prevailing winds that tend to blow rain in.

we had to do this similar approach in our run. So.much.rain this past year, that we were left with poopy mud (yuck and it stank!) so we got a huge load of chipped wood and raised it by 8-10 inches (once it settled). Had to put boards around the fence sides to keep it all in. Then we added to the uncovered side of the run: coarse sand, peat moss, sawdust to make a nice and loose soil for dust bathing.

cute set-up though!

Really curious just how big these are...
...betting the same as what are called pine shavings here in the US.

I'll take a picture in the morning of pine shavings vs wood chip in my hand for you!