Rain, muck, and flies...Help!i

[ChickNanny13]

We get the same RAIN & humid weather here (Hawaii) but think I found the solution with my latest RC (run/coop). I'm limited to 6 hens & been able to keep it down to 4 My "enclosure" is 8'x12'x7' = 96 sq ft, roofed & open air, a huge plastic dog house for nest box, dirt floor covered in shavings (DLM), it's wrapped in shower curtains on EMT rods that I close at night/rain, rope tie down the curtains when the winds pick up. It's simple & works for me....

I just keep adding shavings, DE & Sweet PDZ....No smell, no flies...

 

[AllynTal]

Rain, rain go away! It's been raining here everyday for the last week and I have a muddy mess everywhere except for around the coop. We had terrible mud problems around the coop before. When it would rain, there was no where for the water to go so it made mud. To solve that, we dug about a 4-inch wide trench and put drainage pipe in it to carry the water away from the coop area. Then we took ground-contact-rated 2x6 lumber on edge and built a box around the coop which we then filled with sand. Essentially, we built a sandbox around the coop. The level of the sand contained in the 2x6s is raised higher than the surrounding ground, so that in itself would assist in draining the area and the drainage pipe takes the water away. Now when it rains, the water drains away and it's never muddy around the coop.

 

[getaclue]

First, to deal with the flies. Check the local grocery stores, and get the cheapest dried basil you can find. The large containers from Sam's club, or Costco are great, if available to you. Now go sprinkle it all over the coop, and runs. It's ok if the chickens eat some of it. I do it about every 4 days at first, until the flies are under control. It also sweetens the smell of the coop. Part of the odor problem is overcrowding. In Florida, a coop need not be enclosed in wood, but in good wire, and it needs a roof.

Raising a portion of the coop area with fill dirt would help them have a dry area, but the run can be muddy.

Putting up a good fan (Home Depot) will help with heat, and air circulation.

I staple tarps on the outside of the actual coop section on those few nights that it drops lower than 45 degrees, and take them down if it's going to be warm the next day, then put them up again, as needed.

Here are some pics of my coop, but you can do similar on a smaller scale, then add on as needed.

 

[PattersonBYC]

Something to remember with those fly jars, you want them away from your house and run or else it will attract the flies towards those places. I wasnt thinking last summer when I put one out and instead of reducing the fly population I doubled it....

Oh no! I stuck it right by the coop! Gonna have to move it.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

Your chickens will fine in the rain and mud. Not their favorite but it won't kill them.
Before you spend anytime expanding your run, you need to first expand the coop. You have 10 birds in 16 square feet. That's only about 5 square feet above and beyond what space their bodies take up. I would take your current run and make a 3 sided coop with tons of air flow for your miserable summers . A tiny 4x4 coop is going to be too hot and stuffy and they won't use it.

I agree, the coop is way too small, it needs to be about 3X that size for your number of chickens. That, in addition to the fact that your run is uncovered, there is no place for them to go during bad weather.

 

[Percheron chick]

First, to deal with the flies. Check the local grocery stores, and get the cheapest dried basil you can find. The large containers from Sam's club, or Costco are great, if available to you. Now go sprinkle it all over the coop, and runs. It's ok if the chickens eat some of it. I do it about every 4 days at first, until the flies are under control. It also sweetens the smell of the coop. Part of the odor problem is overcrowding. In Florida, a coop need not be enclosed in wood, but in good wire, and it needs a roof.

Raising a portion of the coop area with fill dirt would help them have a dry area, but the run can be muddy.

Putting up a good fan (Home Depot) will help with heat, and air circulation.

I staple tarps on the outside of the actual coop section on those few nights that it drops lower than 45 degrees, and take them down if it's going to be warm the next day, then put them up again, a

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beautiful example of a hot climate coop. If you haven't already please start a new post on building a coop with management tips for keeping chickens in hot climates.

 

[ChickNanny13]

getaclue, LOVE your design and as Percheon chick said you should post your design in the Coop section.