- Thread starter
- #11
UGH Poop Staying on the Surface of Run. SO FRUSTRATED
- Thread starter hokankai
- Start date
NIFTY!
Okay, hardest but most sure fire cure would be to dig out all the sludge, gravel, sand, french drains and some of the clay. Once you get down to natural ground clay, slope it toward the middle or one side or both sides so that water will drain toward a run off pipe. Put back your pipes - perforated in the lowest area and slope them to carry the water to an area away from the coop. Next, add treated 2x8 or 2x10 boards around the bottom, level the tops and fill with, you guessed it, sand! It doesn't have to be all the way to the top because it will help keep it in the run, but I would suggest at least 5 inches of sand in the shallowest spots. Lastly, put a roof on your coop to keep the rain at bay. Rain will still blow in but shouldn't run and/or puddle. You may also have to trench outside the run to direct running water around the run. I rake under the roosts about 3 days a week and it stays relatively tolerable. Good luck!
Okay, hardest but most sure fire cure would be to dig out all the sludge, gravel, sand, french drains and some of the clay. Once you get down to natural ground clay, slope it toward the middle or one side or both sides so that water will drain toward a run off pipe. Put back your pipes - perforated in the lowest area and slope them to carry the water to an area away from the coop. Next, add treated 2x8 or 2x10 boards around the bottom, level the tops and fill with, you guessed it, sand! It doesn't have to be all the way to the top because it will help keep it in the run, but I would suggest at least 5 inches of sand in the shallowest spots. Lastly, put a roof on your coop to keep the rain at bay. Rain will still blow in but shouldn't run and/or puddle. You may also have to trench outside the run to direct running water around the run. I rake under the roosts about 3 days a week and it stays relatively tolerable. Good luck!
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My coop is an open air pen. Half is built under an arbor and covered with hardware cloth and that is covered with a tarp. Soon as summer vacation is here I will be replacing it with corrugated panels. THe addition (don't laugh, you will do that too!) is covered with a combo of corregated metal roofing and translucent panels. It only took one nasty rain for me to cover the whole thing. I don't have drainage problems so my sand is just on top of the soil and the 2x4's hold it in.
sharon
sharon
Quote:
No, you don't need to dig down, just dig OUT the gravel and replace it with sand.
Our coop is situated at the bottom of a hill in our backyard. It is clay and rock to say nothing of swampy. We simply put the sand over what remained of the grassy area after the girlz were quite through destroying it. We put down at least 6-8 inches of construction grade sand in the run. It is covered and that helps with the water from above. It remains 90% dry except in the most extreme conditions. Whatever you do, get the gravel out before you put down the sand, otherwise it'll be a total mess.
Here's a picture of our setup last summer:
I hope this helps.
Oh, and by the way. Consider sand.
No, you don't need to dig down, just dig OUT the gravel and replace it with sand.
Our coop is situated at the bottom of a hill in our backyard. It is clay and rock to say nothing of swampy. We simply put the sand over what remained of the grassy area after the girlz were quite through destroying it. We put down at least 6-8 inches of construction grade sand in the run. It is covered and that helps with the water from above. It remains 90% dry except in the most extreme conditions. Whatever you do, get the gravel out before you put down the sand, otherwise it'll be a total mess.
Here's a picture of our setup last summer:
I hope this helps.
Oh, and by the way. Consider sand.
ok so you are telling me that all the people that told me to put gravel under my sand for drainage basically just screwed me? Bummer....
We dumped about a ton of pea gravel and then covered with a ton of sand we had in a pile from from when we had a new septic tank sunk. The sand had rocks in it as well. I guess I will have to see how bad it gets before I try digging all the out. We had to rent a fron loader to get it all in there, sure dont want to spend another 200 to rent it again to dig it all out.
We dumped about a ton of pea gravel and then covered with a ton of sand we had in a pile from from when we had a new septic tank sunk. The sand had rocks in it as well. I guess I will have to see how bad it gets before I try digging all the out. We had to rent a fron loader to get it all in there, sure dont want to spend another 200 to rent it again to dig it all out.
Well maybe some will come in a tell you it is working for them but most I have read say it didn't work well.
sharon
sharon
Quote:
Let me know if it works after your first good rain. I was also considering gravel under the sand. I would rather only one of us have to dig the gravel out if it doesn't work.
Let me know if it works after your first good rain. I was also considering gravel under the sand. I would rather only one of us have to dig the gravel out if it doesn't work.
Well its been raining here for 3 days and the girls go out to the coop tomorrow I hope, so we will find out pretty soon!
- Thread starter
- #19
Quote:
No, you don't need to dig down, just dig OUT the gravel and replace it with sand.
Our coop is situated at the bottom of a hill in our backyard. It is clay and rock to say nothing of swampy. We simply put the sand over what remained of the grassy area after the girlz were quite through destroying it. We put down at least 6-8 inches of construction grade sand in the run. It is covered and that helps with the water from above. It remains 90% dry except in the most extreme conditions. Whatever you do, get the gravel out before you put down the sand, otherwise it'll be a total mess.
Here's a picture of our setup last summer:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/43104_8-25-10_coop_105.jpg
I hope this helps.
Oh, and by the way. Consider sand.
THANK YOU! This is exactly what I needed. First I'm going to get some kind of covering for the roof, and then I'll start shoveling out the muck. How much is sand usually? And how much would you recommend for a 12x8 run if I'm gonna put 6" of sand?
No, you don't need to dig down, just dig OUT the gravel and replace it with sand.
Our coop is situated at the bottom of a hill in our backyard. It is clay and rock to say nothing of swampy. We simply put the sand over what remained of the grassy area after the girlz were quite through destroying it. We put down at least 6-8 inches of construction grade sand in the run. It is covered and that helps with the water from above. It remains 90% dry except in the most extreme conditions. Whatever you do, get the gravel out before you put down the sand, otherwise it'll be a total mess.
Here's a picture of our setup last summer:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/43104_8-25-10_coop_105.jpg
I hope this helps.
Oh, and by the way. Consider sand.
THANK YOU! This is exactly what I needed. First I'm going to get some kind of covering for the roof, and then I'll start shoveling out the muck. How much is sand usually? And how much would you recommend for a 12x8 run if I'm gonna put 6" of sand?
to fill your run with 6" of sand you will literally need a couple of tons. I have a 12x18 and when I called the sand place and told them I wanted 3" they told me I would need 2.5 tons
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