Rain rain go away!

[triciayoung]

Hello! I live in nw washington and as all Washingtonian know... we have rain... a lot of rain, maybe a week worth of light snow that's gone in 3 days, and if we are lucky 2 months of sun. I've been indoctrinated into the chicken way for almost 4 yrs now and was wondering whats the best bedding to use in a run? I use wood chips, but even tho I have a roof over my run, we do get sideways rain and the ground gets so soaked every thing that is in contact get soaked. So any tips or tricks would be appreciated.

Hello: I used to live in WA. I lived in Duvall for 12-years. I remember November 1 every year, it started misting and didn't stop until May. However, this year in South Carolina, we have had more rain than I have ever seen - and its not the misty rain. It never bothered me until I had chickens. Now I have an anxiety attack every time I know it is going to rain again. What makes it drier for the chickens is that I buy pine pellets from tractor supply. They are normally used as horse bedding. They are awesome in my runs and soak up water. Also, they are not expensive at all - 40 pound bag for $7.29.

 

[Ashllen]

Yeah, I got a block of "fine" for the hen house and regular for the run. I'll let you know if there is a difference so far they look the same to me. I haven't finished reapplying the cloth yet, sadly I got interrupted by a vet appointment that somehow lasted 2 hours. So far I think tractor supply is my best bet, I tried 2 different feed stores and they both only had pine that was literal sawdust. Rain ruined that pretty quickly, I find actual wood chips much better.

 

[Ashllen]

You could trench around it (not sure your landlord would like that?), or you can try and divert some of the run off with something like bricks, which works surprisingly well. I accidentally created a river of mulch down one side of my garden by accident last spring, just with a "wall" of standard red bricks stacked 2 high. If it's low ground, you might also try adding lot more mulch so that the chickens aren't standing in mud/puddles. Last year I even put a few boards down in my poorly draining run to give them somewhere to be out of the standing water during a particularly wet week.

The only problem (besides my landlord, who is also my roommate) is that the henhouse is un a woody area it's full of roots! I had to dig a bit to make it easier to open the door (really wish my sister had built it more off the ground) and I could get an inch or so with the shovel before hitting a root. It was rough, then my chickens kindly kicked it all back in looking for bugs... I've had to redig that spot 3 times now in the past 5 months. Everything I'm somehow finding more roots.

 

[Ashllen]

Finally have a day that isn't pouring buckets! And with 3 days off I'm back at the coop again. Just attached some hard cloth and am wondering...
Whats the best way to attach two different sheets? I've got wire from the roll itself, I also have zip ties, so any suggestions would be lovely.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Whats the best way to attach two different sheets? I've got wire from the roll itself, I also have zip ties, so any suggestions would be lovely.

"Sew" it together with wire, or use hog rings.