Water Runoff and Disease to Other Species

Humhill

Songster
10 Years
Jan 14, 2010
193
12
111
Liberty, NC
I've been trying to decide where on my property to place my chicken coop and runs. My biggest concern though is how water runoff from the runs will affect my other animals, specifically my horses.
The way my property lays, the runoff will either go across my pasture and into a tiny retention pond or go across my other pasture into a creek that goes through my neighbors' properties.
Has anyone else had problems with other non-avian critters catching disease or parasites from their chickens? Am I being overly cautious or are my concerns valid?
 
How many chickens are you planning on ? I would think that with a flock of 30 healthy birds or less, the normal cleaning and upkeep would make a non issue of any runoff. It will also give you a nice compost pile. With direct runoff into your holding pond the increase in nutrients could cause excess alge growth if the dropping were allowed to pile up. Ideally the coops and runs should be fairly dry areas.
 
Your land would really have to "not perc" to have issue with runoff! It is a good idea to keep poultry poo runoff out of any water bodies. My biggest concern would be other (like wild) birds. If you really think that there is going to be runoff for any reason (You're not thinking of a concrete floor for the run, are you?) than you could dig a trench around the run, and fill it with drain rock, stick some hardware cloth down in there too for predator protection. Also see Pat's "fix a muddy run" page in Learning Center for drainage ideas.
 
I don't have any plans that would cause runoff other than the occasional downpour. The location I plan on putting my coop/run is actually on a slight incline, so drainage shouldn't be a problem.
 

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