Rain in the Run

[ValerieJ]

In the long run, if at all possible, I'd move the coop and run to higher ground. As an interim fix I'd get a couple bales of straw and lay it out thickly across all the muddy parts. In Washington, where I am, my run gets pretty wet in the winter. I go through a lot of straw, and although I still sink in the chickens do not. For a similar reason we are moving one of our coops to higher ground this summer, so you're not the only one who didn't think about that ahead of time. LOL

 

[Henriettamom919]

I feel your pain! I put straw down in the winter because I read on this site, that someone put it over the snow so their girls would come out of the coop/run. What a total mess in the spring!! I had a small pre-fab coop/run. I decided I needed to take matters into my own hands!! Studied plans, YouTube vids, tips on this site. I decided to sort of copy the Wichita coop. A tall order for a girl who never really built anything before. Hubby said "it's your project for YOUR chickens!!" My 13 yr old Daughter as my apprentice and the occasional muscle from my 19yr old Son, we built this.View attachment 1820297

How many lovelies does that hold? I'm having coop envy over here! Great job

 

[Toothpick]

I have a 14x60 run and it’s dirt. Used to be grass but the birds have ate it all. When it rains, it’s muddy. Just a part of life. Actually, I’m sure it won’t be to much longer and I’ll have to drive the T-posts in further because it’s eroding away the ground in there. Unless you can move them to higher ground I wouldn’t stress over it. When it stops raining it will dry out. In the mean time the chickens don’t care that much. As long as they have a spot to get out of it don’t worry yourself.

 

[Trux]

Can you remove some dirt in that corner under the base board and ditch it away to get the water flowing out of the run?
Some people have been using pelletized horse stall bedding to soak up the slop when this happened last year, but you would need to get most of the water out of there first

 

[twendt]

How many lovelies does that hold? I'm having coop envy over here! Great job

I have 6 chickens in Brookfield, WI. We are a western suburb of Milwaukee. 4 SLW, 2 RIR. I am actually an underground chicken keeper, neighbors all love my girls. My suburb is stuck up. Others tried passing an ordinance, Mayor stated, this not that KIND of suburb....Shut it down. That was 2014. One day in April 2017 , my mother texted me, don't go to the Farm and Fleet, they have baby chicks, I was doomed from that moment. I bought 3 RIRs thinking 3 wouldn't be that that obvious. The next spring, of course I still had chicken fever because I did so well with the three, I got 2 SLW. They integrated well with my flock of 3, however, tragedy was just around the corner. Daisie, my favorite, RIR, died. Just didn't wake up one day in June. Mourning, and the flock loosing their leader, I went on Craig's list and got 2 more SLW ( 15 months old) for $6. She was getting rid of the animals on her property because her Son moved out and it was too much for her. Actually, it went well, introducing 2 more hens (I've read horror stories). I have very spoiled hens, they are pets as well as workers. I respect their work. I get 4-6 eggs daily, unfortunately, I have 3 Barred Rock chicks in my brooder as I'm writing this, HELP, CHICKEN MATH!! I plan on re-homing the 2 SLW I rescued (they are not friendly at all). I think my coop can handle 8 chickens comfortably, but I really can't keep that many, I'd get caught for sure!!! Sorry for the long Post, I'm confessing....

 

[ValerieJ]

LOL!!! We all understand chicken fever. No problems on the long post. I love it!

 

[Henriettamom919]

I have 6 chickens in Brookfield, WI. We are a western suburb of Milwaukee. 4 SLW, 2 RIR. I am actually an underground chicken keeper, neighbors all love my girls. My suburb is stuck up. Others tried passing an ordinance, Mayor stated, this not that KIND of suburb....Shut it down. That was 2014. One day in April 2017 , my mother texted me, don't go to the Farm and Fleet, they have baby chicks, I was doomed from that moment. I bought 3 RIRs thinking 3 wouldn't be that that obvious. The next spring, of course I still had chicken fever because I did so well with the three, I got 2 SLW. They integrated well with my flock of 3, however, tragedy was just around the corner. Daisie, my favorite, RIR, died. Just didn't wake up one day in June. Mourning, and the flock loosing their leader, I went on Craig's list and got 2 more SLW ( 15 months old) for $6. She was getting rid of the animals on her property because her Son moved out and it was too much for her. Actually, it went well, introducing 2 more hens (I've read horror stories). I have very spoiled hens, they are pets as well as workers. I respect their work. I get 4-6 eggs daily, unfortunately, I have 3 Barred Rock chicks in my brooder as I'm writing this, HELP, CHICKEN MATH!! I plan on re-homing the 2 SLW I rescued (they are not friendly at all). I think my coop can handle 8 chickens comfortably, but I really can't keep that many, I'd get caught for sure!!! Sorry for the long Post, I'm confessing....View attachment 1820454 View attachment 1820455

While I don't live with your restrictions, I also worship at the altar of Chickens so I totally understand! Your coop is great!

A friend of mine is also an underground chicken keeper (HOA) and we laugh daily about her subterfuge! She keeps expecting to wake up one morning to "chicken mug shots" on the neighborhood's Facebook page!

 

[ChickNanny13]

I feel your pain! I put straw down in the winter because I read on this site, that someone put it over the snow so their girls would come out of the coop/run. What a total mess in the spring!! I had a small pre-fab coop/run. I decided I needed to take matters into my own hands!! Studied plans, YouTube vids, tips on this site. I decided to sort of copy the Wichita coop. A tall order for a girl who never really built anything before. Hubby said "it's your project for YOUR chickens!!" My 13 yr old Daughter as my apprentice and the occasional muscle from my 19yr old Son, we built this.View attachment 1820297

I had used straw in the past, it was a mess. I've also read somewhere here that due to it being "hollow" it may hide bugs. So research well to suit your needs.

 

[AquaDuck]

Dig a ditch around the entire run, complete with drainage pipe sloped away and gravel on top. Really the only way to fix the problem once and for all.
First spring in the duck run, 1 meter of snow melted into the run from all sides, an insane mess! Last fall I dug a huge ditch, and this spring it was MUCH better as the water had a place to go away from the run.

 

[MROO]

I am desperate for advice on how to fix the water/muck issue, and hoping to figure out a plan to prevent this from happening again. I will try to take a more recent pic of how bad it really is. I'm so sad, and feel helpless!
View attachment 1819787

Wow! That is one BIG puddle! Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot you can do to fix the grading issue until the rain stops and the mess can dry out some, but there are lots of ways to combat wet feet and feathers until you can. For a quick fix, you can put some intact bales of straw directly into your run. Don't cut the strings or break them apart, just set them right in the puddle. Your birds will jump up to keep their feet dry. If you toss some scratch along the tops, they'll have a grand ol' time digging around for goodies. Once the rains go away, you'll have wet straw bales to compost - or better yet, turn into a straw-bale garden (YouTube 'em ... they're pretty cool!)

If you have a picnic table bench or can pick up a cheap end table at your local thrift store, that would give them a dry surface, too, but it would still leave the puddle underneath, so you'll need to soak that up with some straw or wood chips. Just remember that anything you put in there will need to be taken out eventually ... all wet and heavy and poo-ey, so make it easy on yourself and be careful what you throw on the mess.

Flooded runs are not fun, but they are survivable ... here's to hoping the sun comes out soon for you and your biddies!