SO. MUCH. MUD. Thinking of putting a metal roof on run....

[TanyaTS]

Excuse typos - *add to compost heap and *love it - I don’t live in it ha! Sorry need to preview before I post

 

[leslielbk]

Excuse typos - *add to compost heap and *love it - I don’t live in it ha! Sorry need to preview before I post

No worries - I know what you meant. I love that idea! I've got some areas on my 5 acres that are sure to have pine straw. Maybe I could throw some sort of seed down first? Other posters on a different thread are talking about groundcover seeds.

 

[TanyaTS]

Yes I plan on doing that in their rotating yard areas but in their enclosed run - where they stay when I’m not home, I have layers of pine straw and no mud problem. It’s so fresh and clean

 

[BBHF1775]

I'm posting this on this thread in case someone watching has a brilliant idea. My current run is about 30'x75'. Over the course of a year-and-a-half they've pretty much eaten every green thing so now most of it is just dirt. Rainy season is coming and I'm in Florida. And I'd like to be proactive for once . I haven't had to plant anything with chickens around so far and I don't know what to plant or how to keep them away from it while it grows in. Any ideas? If I don't do something It's going to turn into a muddy swamp during hurricane season.

There's been so many great replies to this thread! I don't see how you can keep your chickens away from anything while you try to grow it except for a physical barrier, ours are stone cold killer when it comes to anything green and tasty

 

[BPChickenFarmer]

Your run look stout so you can easily put on a light weight roof.
I have course sand in my run and love it. I have a layer of sand then a layer of gravel and then topped with more sand. This creates a filter system. I rake it up and spray it down. Once a year take off the top layer and replace.

David

 

[WGHowell]

So. Much. Rain. Here in Georgia that's all we seem to get nowadays. I just grin and bare it. The chickens don't seem to mind it to much and if it gets to heavy they go back to the roost where I keep heat lamps on for them so they can get dried off and out of the rain. Sometimes I look out and it don't seem to matter to them that it is raining. Sometimes I think their ducks rather than chickens.

 

[Onyxflock]

You are in FL? You must do pine straw easily available for us in the south . I have in on my run floor and live it! It is clean, it smells nice, it drains perfectly, it breaks down nicely to had to compost heap and most especially my chickens love scratching through it.

Here in Ca we can get field grass @ $7 bale, our chickens love it. It has seeds & dried greens that they scratch in. The straw helps the mud situation. All in all I think it bothers us more than the birds, getting dirty and muddy

 

[Onyxflock]

Your run look stout so you can easily put on a light weight roof.
I have course sand in my run and love it. I have a layer of sand then a layer of gravel and then topped with more sand. This creates a filter system. I rake it up and spray it down. Once a year take off the top layer and replace.

David

Great advice.

 

[CoopDeVille1986]

Do you work for the Gov.? Kind of overkill for a coup roof.

I don't work for the government though I'm an engineer....I go overkill on most of my projects