Water issues in my run, need help

[Rtalbot]

Hi there, I have a run that is on a slope where water runs through it when we have heavy rain. The placement of the run and coop is the only place I can use in my yard so moving is not an option. I have done everything from drain tile, water guards, sand bags and packing clay up the sides. I even put up blinds to help keep rain out thinking that was the issue but it's not. I think the water runs under the raised coop and into the run, I just cant seem to figure out where. Once the water is in it has a tough time draining then it turns to compost. Terrible smell and not healthy for the girls. I've thought about raising the floor with wood pallets but I see everyone says they will rot over time. Does anyone have an idea because I'm at wits end with this. Scooping out the mud is a huge chore that I hate dealing with. My last option is to give my girls up which breaks my heart seeing I raised them from 2 days old along with all the work I've put into the coop/run. I have attached a picture to show my set up. It's hard to see but my yard does have a slight slope. I would appreciate any ideas.

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[Penpal]

Fence an addition area so that the girls come out of the coop, then can step over to a dry area?

You can also put a couple of pallets in the run so they have something relatively dry to stand on. Also an outdoor roost. I made a roost like a work horse and the roosters liked being tall.

 

[Rtalbot]

Fence an addition area so that the girls come out of the coop, then can step over to a dry area?

You can also put a couple of pallets in the run so they have something relatively dry to stand on. Also an outdoor roost. I made a roost like a work horse and the roosters liked being tall.

Thank you for the response, the work horse is also a great idea.

 

[linguini]

You may consider borderig up the run with concrete edger (from home depot, like this) and add sand, dirt and wood chip, this will raise the bed of the run and keep the area dry. We have a covered run in the lower end of the property, the run used to get muddy after a few rainy days. We added sand, which resolved the mud issue, but adding wood chips on top turned the entire area into deep litter - never need to clean!

 

[texsuze]

Some ideas, but possibly labor/cost intensive:
1. Relocate your run to the uphill side of the coop and even enclose the coop within your run. Maybe water won't pool in the run with such a relo.
2. As previously mentioned, add a water barrier/diversion around the uphill, lower edge of the run and extend it outward a few feet beyond the uphill side of the run.
3. With water barrier/diversion edging in place, remove the leaf litter and organic material (which is a good thing to have in most cases!) down to dirt and back fill with sand.
4. Add some sun shade cloth to the roof of your run to prevent excess leaf droppings and impede some of the rain since rain is apparently the water source for your flooding. Wish I had your issues--we're in severe drought x 3 years...

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are generally two ways to handle a wet run. Either keep the water out to begin with or get the water out if it gets wet.

Some ways to keep water out are sloped roofs where the water dumps so it will not flow back into the run. Gutters and downspouts may help with that. Maybe cover the sides to stop rainwater from blowing in. On the uphill side maybe a berm and swale system to divert runoff. I put a few inches if impermeable soil (clay) in my coop to get it above the level of the ground outside. The coop stayed dry.

Your coop is on the uphill side of the run. Is the rainwater off of the coop a part of the problem? Maybe gutters and a downspout to direct the water away?

Once the water is in it needs to have a place to go so it can drain. Is your run a permeable sand that drains well or an impermeable clay that holds water? I know, silly question. If it were sand you would not have posted about this. If you dig out a hole in it and fill l it with sand all you've done is dig a tank that will hold water. Even filled with sand that water will go stagnant and probably soon stink. Building it up with sand will work as long as the water has some place to drain to.

But it is not draining now. Are the chickens digging holes in it with their scratching to hold water? Maybe add some dirt to raise it up a bit and them top with a thick layer of sand so the water can drain.

With their scratching are the chickens moving dirt downhill so you get a dam built up at the bottom fence that is holding water? Maybe dig some trenches at the bottom and fill them with gravel or sand to act like a French drain and get the water out.

When it sets in wet that run will probably be a mess whatever you do. Mine is like that. But you want it to dry out as soon as reasonable once the rain stops.

If your chickens spend too much time standing in wet it can injure their feet. You might want to put something like pallets, timbers, or cinder blocks so they can stand on them and dry out their feet. Yes, wood will eventually rot but you can still get a lot of good use out of it before it does.

 

[Rtalbot]

You may consider borderig up the run with concrete edger (from home depot, like this) and add sand, dirt and wood chip, this will raise the bed of the run and keep the area dry. We have a covered run in the lower end of the property, the run used to get muddy after a few rainy days. We added sand, which resolved the mud issue, but adding wood chips on top turned the entire area into deep litter - never need to clean!

I like the concrete edger idea. As I can get them into the are between the coop and the run to stop where I think some of the water comes in. I did read wood chips were a great idea. I think I'm going to try them both. Thank you!!

 

[Rtalbot]

There are generally two ways to handle a wet run. Either keep the water out to begin with or get the water out if it gets wet.

Some ways to keep water out are sloped roofs where the water dumps so it will not flow back into the run. Gutters and downspouts may help with that. Maybe cover the sides to stop rainwater from blowing in. On the uphill side maybe a berm and swale system to divert runoff. I put a few inches if impermeable soil (clay) in my coop to get it above the level of the ground outside. The coop stayed dry.

Your coop is on the uphill side of the run. Is the rainwater off of the coop a part of the problem? Maybe gutters and a downspout to direct the water away?

Once the water is in it needs to have a place to go so it can drain. Is your run a permeable sand that drains well or an impermeable clay that holds water? I know, silly question. If it were sand you would not have posted about this. If you dig out a hole in it and fill l it with sand all you've done is dig a tank that will hold water. Even filled with sand that water will go stagnant and probably soon stink. Building it up with sand will work as long as the water has some place to drain to.

But it is not draining now. Are the chickens digging holes in it with their scratching to hold water? Maybe add some dirt to raise it up a bit and them top with a thick layer of sand so the water can drain.

With their scratching are the chickens moving dirt downhill so you get a dam built up at the bottom fence that is holding water? Maybe dig some trenches at the bottom and fill them with gravel or sand to act like a French drain and get the water out.

When it sets in wet that run will probably be a mess whatever you do. Mine is like that. But you want it to dry out as soon as reasonable once the rain stops.

If your chickens spend too much time standing in wet it can injure their feet. You might want to put something like pallets, timbers, or cinder blocks so they can stand on them and dry out their feet. Yes, wood will eventually rot but you can still get a lot of good use out of it before it does.

Hi there,
Thank you for your reply. I've gotten some great ideas. Yes, my chickens do dig holes so I'm going to do what you say to replace with dirt the top it with sand. If I can fill it above the base line then the water will run out into the back trench I dug. I dug it so the water running from the roof would pour into it and hopefully drain away from the run. We have clay here so when it rains, it rains hard and the clay can't drain fast enough, so that was a great question. One the other side of the run we did a french drain so that has helped but we still have water coming from an area we just can't find. I'll try these ideas so I thank you for them.

 

[perkolator]

Dunno why I can't click on your pic to zoom in and see it better. More pics would help to show the slope and situation. Are those corrugated drainage pipes uphill from the coop?

My coop is situated in a similar situation on a hill and water could potentially sheet into the run in hard rains. In anticipation of water flow, I diverted water on the uphill side so any water coming down the hill will flow around the coop. Did mine with a very basic low-profile dirt berm, in a V shape about 8ft uphill from the coop structure. Inside the run I added enough wood chips and organics to raise the terrain above the surrounding ground level so it's above any water.

Adding lots of arborist wood chip mulch really helps improve soil permeation in general - worms will seek it out and their activity will burrow more holes into the ground, and as it breaks down and gets mixed with the soil below, the additional organic content will dilute the clay and add porosity and be more permeable.