Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[justdishy]

Yes, it's a dirt ground in the run. Unfortunately it's in a downhill spot, but water doesn't pool, just continues to run downhill. But the ground is obviously damp every where. Guess I could put in a French drain uphill/alongside the run.

Would using sand in the run be better?

 

[Bridebeliever]

A lot of people like sand, some hate it. Some like straw, some hate it. Some like piles of leaves, some hate it. I personally like a 2" pea gravel layer and then a 4" sand layer. It's crazy easy to clean, think kitty litter scoop but make it on the end of a pitch fork with mesh over it. Let's the sand off but not the poop. You need 2x6's around the perimeter to hold the sand in. This might be easier to do then trying to figure out drainage.

 

[justdishy]

Thanks for the input. The run is built on top of concrete blocks so sand won't be going anywhere.

Do you ever entirely remove or change out the sand?

 

[Bridebeliever]

I have read somewhere once per year?

I'm going to give you a link to a thread on here about sand in the coop. Don't get overwhelmed by the fact there's 500 posts! Just read a few pages and you may get a lot of questions answered.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/250190/anyone-use-sand-in-the-run-coop

 

[BGMatt]

Hey guys and gals, don't post here much anymore but am wondering if there is anyone that would be interested in working on a Buff Leghorn or Bantam Langshan project. The Buff Leghorns are three years in and despite large improvements are probably still a year or two away from champion row. The Bantam Langshans are ahead of that, already landing on champion row once this show season. The breeder is having to move on from them for personal reasons so I'm trying to help them find people that might be interested in seriously continuing the projects.

 

[CarolynF]

Yes, it's a dirt ground in the run. Unfortunately it's in a downhill spot, but water doesn't pool, just continues to run downhill. But the ground is obviously damp every where. Guess I could put in a French drain uphill/alongside the run.

Would using sand in the run be better?

A lot of people like sand, some hate it. Some like straw, some hate it. Some like piles of leaves, some hate it. I personally like a 2" pea gravel layer and then a 4" sand layer. It's crazy easy to clean, think kitty litter scoop but make it on the end of a pitch fork with mesh over it. Let's the sand off but not the poop. You need 2x6's around the perimeter to hold the sand in. This might be easier to do then trying to figure out drainage.

The sand just absorbs enormous amounts of water in a case like this. Maybe you can convince it to go deeper into a deep layer of drainage rock, like they use for drain fields. You don't want soggy sand mixing with poop, it turns to concrete. We had to deal with this, too. There's a paved driveway that goes along the uphill edge of our run and the runoff drains directly into the run that has about 6"-8" of sand. We finally got it under control by installing 6" wide rubber/plastic edging to divert the runoff. It's working really well. The problem with a french drain is that it fills with sand, dirt, and silt and stops working within a few short years. Using a filter/screen/mesh on the perimeter has the same problem of getting clogged quickly. Can you tell I've spent a lot of time researching this? Diverting the water is your best bet. If that can't be done, can you elevate the floor? In a pinch, putting down wooden pallets helps, but that's a temporary fix until the rains stop.

 

[CarolynF]

Thanks for the input. The run is built on top of concrete blocks so sand won't be going anywhere.

Do you ever entirely remove or change out the sand?

I've had a sand run for several years. Since I clean it daily the top layer gets removed a bit at a time. I don't have plans to shovel out the entire run, but I'll be adding fresh sand to replace what gets taken out via the cleaning.

 

[justdishy]

Thanks Bridebeliever and CarolynF for your specific suggestions. I'm particularly interested in the rubber/plastic barriers you mentioned. Was this like flashing or lawn edging or something else I could get at a home improvement store?

Believe it or not I already brought home some pallets but was concerned about what might happen in the void between the wood layers, or feet getting caught.

Could also put down thick plastic sheeting like vapor barrier over dirt, then sand on top. Might try this tomorrow before rain comes back.

 

[JulesChicks]

I've got a question re moisture in our attached covered run: there is moisture (condensation?) on the underside of the wavy polycarbonate roofing I installed. We have had 10" of rain this month but not much in the last 7 days. The soil in the run feels wet to the touch though the sides are covered with plastic or have guttering on the eaves. Is the damp coming up from the ground, and what can I do to make the run more dry? Thanks for advice.

I learned from someone on the Natural chicken keeping thread to use wood chips (or leaves, grass clippings, etc) in the run to create a deep litter. Over time it will compost naturally, just keep adding new organic material and then in the spring you can shovel out any excess for your garden. In your case, since the run is downhill, diverting some of the runoff may be a great help too. But deep litter keeps the soil healthy and therefore your birds, without having to sift out poop regularly. You just don't want the soil to get compacted and heavy with droppings. Mine is unfortunately in need of more chips at the moment so I need to get on that. The lady I learned it from said she likes to let them break down a bit in the pile first and then add them to the run. You can ask around from tree trimming companies and let them know you would like some next time they have some to get rid of. Just like with cedar in the coop, I would imagine we wouldn't want cedar chips in the run either. My chickens love digging around in the wood chip pile outside their run - they have spread it out a bit now.

 

[justdishy]

Great suggestion, JulesChicks. How deep a layer of chips do you use? I've been using arborist wood chips instead of bark in my garden beds.