raising the level of run

[afritzius]

Can see where you blocked the water flow and where it ran around those blocks.

Can you add a big pile of dirt to raise the whole area where the new coop and run will go?

yes. my question is really more if dirt will be enough, or is there another material (in addition to dirt) to help raise and level the yard there. possible I'm over thinking this?

 

[rosemarythyme]

You will probably need to both raise the level of the run as well as add more drainage to encourage water to flow away from the run.

I would consider doing deep litter with chunky wood chips. It won't fix drainage issues but what it will do is allow for faster drainage of the litter itself.

I had two floods a couple years ago:

and while it wasn't possible to get the run floor high enough that it wouldn't flood at all (and since this wasn't a result of drainage issues adding drains wouldn't have fixed it), the deep litter drained noticeably faster than the surrounding lawn. In 48 hours it was dry enough to let the chickens back out into the run.

 

[afritzius]

You will probably need to both raise the level of the run as well as add more drainage to encourage water to flow away from the run.

I would consider doing deep litter with chunky wood chips. It won't fix drainage issues but what it will do is allow for faster drainage of the litter itself.

I had two floods a couple years ago:
View attachment 2696155
and while it wasn't possible to get the run floor high enough that it wouldn't flood at all (and since this wasn't a result of drainage issues adding drains wouldn't have fixed it), the deep litter drained noticeably faster than the surrounding lawn. In 48 hours it was dry enough to let the chickens back out into the run.

holy, hell! that's some flooding! thank you for the recommendation.

 

[3KillerBs]

from the back fence to about where I'm standing will be the new, permanent coop and run. the slope of the yard isn't too severe, but it's a problem I'd like to remedy for the new coop so that I can keep as dry a run as possible. I don't have pictures of it actually flooding.

I agree with @aart and @rosemarythyme,

PLENTY of dirt to raise the entire area, and the use of wood chips for deep litter.

But also create a diversion ditch to direct water flow around the coop and run.

 

[aart]

yes. my question is really more if dirt will be enough, or is there another material (in addition to dirt) to help raise and level the yard there. possible I'm over thinking this?

Well, it might depend on how bad and frequent the runoff is.

Might be good to build a retaining wall upslope, maybe angled to 'steer' the run off, and prevent erosion of the new higher elevation.
I suppose gravel might be a base then dirt.
Digging some trenches can help too, that's what I do here.
Just some thoughts.

 

[Acre4Me]

We also had water issues. The land here is fairly flat, but water flowing from the slightly higher neighbor yards to the north were creating some issues, along with the berm along the farm field where the water should have been going.

1. we built an elevated coop -not bc of flooding as we were ignorant of the water issue in really heavy rain when we luckily decided upon an elevated coop. The coop is about 2.5’ above the ground with a 6’ deck to accommodate a wheelbarrow for clean outs, with 3-4steps to get up.

2. We took the gutter downspouts and directed them into buried pipes that lead far away from the coop and garden. So, they no longer flowed into and near the coop.

3. We brought in 102 tons of dirt (4truckloads) to level out the area behind and south of the barn -where The garden was getting mildly flooded in heavy rain. It was more an issue that over time ground had settled and had some low pockets that collected water. So we killed the grass with the tiller, let it die completely, then the dirt arrived and was spread around. This area was then covered in mulch from a tree service company (except where raised beds were placed).

4. We added boards along the run fence, then added a huge truckload of mulch from the tree company. Note, we did NOT add any dirt here-we decided to just add lots of mulch that drains really well. When we first put it all in and it was still very “fluffy” ...the chickens seemed to be at eye level with us when on top of this fresh stuff. With a bit of time and rain, it settled quite a bit-the boards helped keep it in.

5. While the entire run is behind the barn, it still needed a roof. It took us 3 years, but the run now has a roof! It still gets rain and snow inside If it is blowing, but the bulk of the water is not entering the run.

6. We added some dirt and mulch to the north side of the yard-where the water had a tendency to flow. Then we asked the neighbor if we could remove the berm that was trapping water at back of their yard instead of flowing onto the farm field. They sort of agreed (older, very opinionated person) and we removed about 15’ of berm, and water now flows off their yard onto the farm field at a much faster rate. This means, the water doesn’t flow onto our yard from that direction, unless a really heavy rain.

7. In above #6, the neighbor won’t do anything else, so in really heavy rains, the water wants to flow across our barn driveway and threatens to enter the barn. So, we additionally dug a ditch on the other side of the barn, and buried 2 smooth walled drainage pipes to carry water to the farm field and lowered a small area of grass leading to those pipes. We want the water to leave as fast as possible.

8. The solution that makes the most sense is to put a berm on that north side of the yard-keep that water over there and let it flow onto the farm field via neighbor yard (the water comes from their yard anyway), BUT, we began that project but it angered the neighbor. Remember, older person set in their ways and opinions. Although we are completely within our rights to put in a short berm on our property, to prevent the water from entering our property (as it can flow onto farm field via neighbor yard) we removed it, and focused on those smooth wall pipes.

what we did right was to do everything in stages. Water finds the lowest point. So, each major change we waited to see the result..then adjusted. When we brought in the 102 tons of dirt (the another 25 tons for a large garden bed on the south side) it meant water had to flow differently. We altered some things on the south side of the yard too (these didn’t affect the coop area) to address the water flow. We added longer pipes to the house downspouts to direct the water to a low area that naturally drains to the farm field -so that water is not entering the yard that leads to the garden/coop area.

so, follow the water flow and asses the places water is coming from. It took us some time, but it really helped to observe and asses our options bc moving dirt is hard work!

good luck.

 

[afritzius]

thank you for all the suggestions!

 

[3KillerBs]

We also had water issues. The land here is fairly flat, but water flowing from the slightly higher neighbor yards to the north were creating some issues, along with the berm along the farm field where the water should have been going.

1. we built an elevated coop -not bc of flooding as we were ignorant of the water issue in really heavy rain when we luckily decided upon an elevated coop. The coop is about 2.5’ above the ground with a 6’ deck to accommodate a wheelbarrow for clean outs, with 3-4steps to get up.

2. We took the gutter downspouts and directed them into buried pipes that lead far away from the coop and garden. So, they no longer flowed into and near the coop.

3. We brought in 102 tons of dirt (4truckloads) to level out the area behind and south of the barn -where The garden was getting mildly flooded in heavy rain. It was more an issue that over time ground had settled and had some low pockets that collected water. So we killed the grass with the tiller, let it die completely, then the dirt arrived and was spread around. This area was then covered in mulch from a tree service company (except where raised beds were placed).

4. We added boards along the run fence, then added a huge truckload of mulch from the tree company. Note, we did NOT add any dirt here-we decided to just add lots of mulch that drains really well. When we first put it all in and it was still very “fluffy” ...the chickens seemed to be at eye level with us when on top of this fresh stuff. With a bit of time and rain, it settled quite a bit-the boards helped keep it in.

5. While the entire run is behind the barn, it still needed a roof. It took us 3 years, but the run now has a roof! It still gets rain and snow inside If it is blowing, but the bulk of the water is not entering the run.

6. We added some dirt and mulch to the north side of the yard-where the water had a tendency to flow. Then we asked the neighbor if we could remove the berm that was trapping water at back of their yard instead of flowing onto the farm field. They sort of agreed (older, very opinionated person) and we removed about 15’ of berm, and water now flows off their yard onto the farm field at a much faster rate. This means, the water doesn’t flow onto our yard from that direction, unless a really heavy rain.

7. In above #6, the neighbor won’t do anything else, so in really heavy rains, the water wants to flow across our barn driveway and threatens to enter the barn. So, we additionally dug a ditch on the other side of the barn, and buried 2 smooth walled drainage pipes to carry water to the farm field and lowered a small area of grass leading to those pipes. We want the water to leave as fast as possible.

8. The solution that makes the most sense is to put a berm on that north side of the yard-keep that water over there and let it flow onto the farm field via neighbor yard (the water comes from their yard anyway), BUT, we began that project but it angered the neighbor. Remember, older person set in their ways and opinions. Although we are completely within our rights to put in a short berm on our property, to prevent the water from entering our property (as it can flow onto farm field via neighbor yard) we removed it, and focused on those smooth wall pipes.

what we did right was to do everything in stages. Water finds the lowest point. So, each major change we waited to see the result..then adjusted. When we brought in the 102 tons of dirt (the another 25 tons for a large garden bed on the south side) it meant water had to flow differently. We altered some things on the south side of the yard too (these didn’t affect the coop area) to address the water flow. We added longer pipes to the house downspouts to direct the water to a low area that naturally drains to the farm field -so that water is not entering the yard that leads to the garden/coop area.

so, follow the water flow and asses the places water is coming from. It took us some time, but it really helped to observe and asses our options bc moving dirt is hard work!

good luck.

You should make a "How We Solved Our Water Problem" article.

 

[Acre4Me]

You should make a "How We Solved Our Water Problem" article.

Thanks. Maybe one day I will. It’s hard to see in pics bc of the flat land, so I’d have to make diagrams, I suspect.

 

[3KillerBs]

Thanks. Maybe one day I will. It’s hard to see in pics bc of the flat land, so I’d have to make diagrams, I suspect.

IMO, diagrams are often more useful than photos because they show things clearly without distractions.