Suggestions for a VERY muddy run?

[FortFusterCluck]

We'll be moving this summer. We are swapping houses with our son. (His family is growing and needs a bigger house, and we need a smaller house with no stairs. Win-win.)

Genius!!! Good plan!!

 

[Ocho 8 Farm]

Pelleted pine shavings. They absorb all the moisture and make it easier to clean up.
I love it!

 

[Colberon]

I hear ya. I try to put a good thick layer on in late fall, so there's some left at snow melt season. But I have had to resort to tossing some pine shavings(used in the coop).
Might think about bagging up some chippings to save for snow melt.

I have definitely learned this year and will put down a thick layer next falll, I'm thinking the metal roof will help for next year too! For now, I think I will move all the current shavings from the coop into the run and place new shavings in the coop. Thank you for your suggestions.

 

[RoyalChick]

Pine pelleted bedding for horses. Here is a link to TSC source
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...es-stories-of-our-flock.1286630/post-26641123

Don't get the kind for cats (it is MUCH more expensive) and look at the bag if you get the kind for a wood stove because some of them come with additives to make them burn better.
I personally wouldn't pay for bedding year round when I can get free wood chips and leaves, but in a mud emergency these will see you through nicely.

 

[Colberon]

If nothing else, try putting down some pallets and/or straw bales just to give your birds a dry place to stand.

Do your garden centers have bagged mulch yet? The coarsest plain, undyed mulch you can get might help.

I would rather not do straw bales, we had straw in the run last year and it was a terrible mess to clean out, it did not dry out well in the spring and was clumped together and had to be shoveled out. There is no mulch available yet, we still have a lot of snow on the ground unfortunately. I'm going to try wood shavings and see if that helps. Thank you for your response.

 

[Mrs Fryzzle]

I live in Northern Maine and have been away on vacation for 9 days, when I left the ground was frozen solid, but spring appears to have sprung while I was gone, resulting in my run being EXTREMELY muddy. The thaw has also thawed the feces, and now it's a mucky mess! Any suggestions on what I can put down to prevent my 6 hens from walking through the mix of mud and poo and becoming sick?

P.S. Their run is 5'x15'.

I had similar situation- I am in DownEast Maine. Wood pellets from Tractor Supply work CRAZY well!! President of Chickenlandia has a Youtube video on this, she is in Pacific Northwest- Rainnny! Just use a large cup to scoop and spread the pellets on/through-out the wet areas and watch them work. (kind of like salt over ice)
...And another lady- who does an 'I' cut along the surface (laying flat on the ground) and pours apprx 3 gallons of water into it to fully expand all the pellets, then spreads it all through inside of her coop. (Another idea.)
Inexpensive, super effective. Even creates a new base floor, adding to the existing ground layer of the run. Love it! It looks like bigger food pellets and I was concerned that my Chickens and Ducks would confuse the WP with the feed pellets.... but they don't. Saw a few pick some up and then drop it out of their mouths- there must be taste that they pick up and know it isn't food. Sounds silly, I find it hard to believe they pick up flavors, but they do. Can time the spread of the pellets to after they have been put-up for night, or are out running around.

Good luck!
Heidi

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I've been dealing with the same problem. My hens needed shavings, but my local feed store was out. I ended up getting stuck buying shavings at Paris Farmer's Union, and they were more like sawdust and wasn't fit for in the coop because it's too dusty. I just got some good shavings today, so I put the sawdust in my run and it's working well. It's still moist, but it's not all poop and stinky anymore. (Also, yesterday I scrapped a bunch of the muck to one side, so the sawdust today isn't having to soak up as much.)

 

[Colberon]

I've been dealing with it, too. I'm just so bleeping sick of the MUD and MUCK and STINK. Even said to the hubby just yesterday that I don't mind the cold as long as it's DRY! I've thrown down hay everywhere (free supply), and straw from a couple of broken bales, over a thick base of old wood chips already - and still the muck squishes up through the hay. Wish I could find a good free supply of wood chips; that would be better. Well, that and good drainage!

We'll be moving this summer. We are swapping houses with our son. (His family is growing and needs a bigger house, and we need a smaller house with no stairs. Win-win.) We plan to locate the coops on the highest point of the property, where he had his above-ground swimming pool over a generous base of sand. (Pool = electrical outlet and water hydrant installed already. ) So.... that and wood chips should be perfect. Hopefully, this has been my last year keeping chickens in a muddy run! Woohoo!

I hear you on the mud and stink!! Ours typically isn't bad, but the tarp like cover that came with our chain link dog kennel used as our run had worn out and we replaced it with a tarp that we weren't able to pull as tight and snow and ice gathered on the the tarp and didn't slide off. Earlier in the winter we had a storm with wind gusts over 50 mph and my husband put bags of pellets on the roof to hold the tarp and it got so wild it tore some holes in the tarp, now rain and melted ice and snow are boing down through and making it worse. This summer we are expanding the run and putting a metal roof on, fingers crossed this helps for next year. Putting your pool on the sand should be a big help, I would still add the large woodchips, we tried sand int he past and the poo sits on top and they walk through it. We have tried sooo many things, sand, pea stone straw, larger rocks, we find the large woodchips work best, hoping we can find some soon!

 

[Shipgirl]

I live in Northern Maine and have been away on vacation for 9 days, when I left the ground was frozen solid, but spring appears to have sprung while I was gone, resulting in my run being EXTREMELY muddy. The thaw has also thawed the feces, and now it's a mucky mess! Any suggestions on what I can put down to prevent my 6 hens from walking through the mix of mud and poo and becoming sick?

P.S. Their run is 5'x15'.

I take the wood chips from my coop when I clean it and spread them in the run.

 

[southwestclucker]

I use wood chips in my run BUT we have had a LOT of snow this season and a good bit of rain too - when I know a lot is coming, I lay down cardboard in the run, weighed down with logs because we get bad wind also, and that keeps the wood chips much drier than they would be otherwise. I also keep a stash of dry wood chips in my shed in 5 gallon buckets so that I can spread a little on top after removing the cardboard when the rain/snow stops. I have also saved dry leaves and used them in the same manner before.