Soggy, no rather I should say "moist" coop floor

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

It's been raining and seems ever since the first rain after setting up the hoop coop the floor has been, er ah, moist. It has not completely dried out yet. Mister keeps saying, "It will dry out". Well, it hasn't. I was just trying to reason on this in my head and it went like this . . .

Ok, if chickens were originally on the forest floor, no doubt it was not dry. I am picturing for instance the Amazon. I don't know where this forest floor is from which they originated. Is this something I should add to my "Chicken Worry List"?

At first I was trying to keep up by adding pine needles and leaves; but it almost feels never ending trying to keep their floor dry (perhaps in the spring/summer when there will be blazing sun).

 

[ColtHandorf]

?

The floor should not be damp for extended periods of time. It will grow bacteria and is bad for their feet. In extreme cases of flooding, pallets can be thrown down to give them dry areas of land to dry out. If it's just a neverending dampness, I'd advise adding ramial wood chippings, leaf litter, pine needles, etc, to make the floor at least 4-6 inches deep. @aart can tell you more about proper run bedding and care.

But just say no to

.

 

[aart]

Pics of the coop, inside and out, please.
...and.....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[Chicken poppy]

?

But just say no to

.

I knew someone would mention it.

 

[ColtHandorf]

I knew someone would mention it.

Mention what?

 

[FunClucks]

4-6" of large wood chips from a tree service in a covered run is the way I got my open air run/coop (think large hoop coop) to dry out. I add cut grass, leaves, weeds from the garden, etc. as they are available, and it mixes into the run floor for interesting scratching.

Also, check the drainage of the surrounding land. You could build french drains and/or berms, or ditches. We've only had water flow into the coop from surrounding rains maybe 3 times in 8 months, and it only stays moist for a few days. If it stayed wet constantly, I'd be concerned. I also have some pallets in the run, and place them over wet spots sometimes.

 

[3KillerBs]

If you mean moist like a wrung-out sponge, that's about right for actively-composting deep litter over a dirt floor to work most effectively.

Wetter than that can be a problem.

More dry organic material can't hurt.

Are the trees in the picture of your fence in the other thread pines? Pine straw is great because the natural coating on the needles resists moisture and stays dry on top.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Mention what?

The word moist. It seems to bother everybody.

 

[ColtHandorf]

The word moist. It seems to bother everybody.

... The OP literally used the word in the title of the thread.

Of course, someone would use the word. lol

 

[FunClucks]

I had another thought for you, Hip Hillbilly Farm. You might also want to check your overhangs. For instance, I use a tarp staked over my greenhouse frame (large hoop coop) as shown. We get moisture coming in the ends of the coop a few inches, but the run is so large, it's immaterial. The rest stays extremely dry. I put wood chips in that are damp from ground contact and partially composted- they've been sitting in my driveway for months. I get so much cross breeze and through breeze that any wood chip moisture quickly goes away, and I haven't had any respiratory issues. The overhangs keep it a lot dryer than laying the tarp flat up against the hoop, and make the rain travel farther across the ground before it can get into the coop, also avoids ground splashing except at the open ends. But my main concern to begin with was having good ventilation in the hottest, most humid days of summer. The overhangs on the tarp did a great job of capturing any breeze and moving it through the run.

I'm in north Alabama USA, so we get major humidity and hot temperatures most of the year, and quite a bit of rain usually.