Sweet PDZ O.K. in Litter??

[rdranch]

Is it o.k. to use some Sweet PDZ in shavings on the coop floor. The floor is 6x12 feet with 18 pullets. Under the shavings is about 4 inches of 1 inch gravel and heavy clay soil under that. It's always pretty dry in there(as we get NO rain at all lately). My concern was this winter there will be snow and it usually melts quickly and the ground will be soggy for quite awhile. I thought using some Sweet PDZ would help control moisture in the coop in between cleanings. Any thoughts????

 

[patandchickens]

SweetPDZ is fine for odor and humid-bedding type problems, but won't do much good if your basic problem is that the ground gets wet from snowmelt.

Can you improve the drainage around your coop - put a gutter on the roof with a long downpipe to direct water well away from the building, and if needed dig a shallow trench a foot or two wide around the building with a similar ditch leading water downhill away from it? That will help a LOT.

You may also need to raise the floor level by adding something like 3/4"-minus gravel, although if you add more than a couple inches of gravel be aware it will push outwards on the bottom of the coop walls which would therefore have to be reinforced.

Good luck,

Pat, who lives in more or less a swamp and knows about poor drainage

 

[rdranch]

Thanks for the tips. I guess the easy solution would be to put up some gutters and direct the water away from the barn. It's all steel and will be easy to do. Once again thanks!