Wet chicken run, flooding and heavy rainfall

[Muser]

So I live in the south of the UK and the weather has been near constant rain for what feels like months. I have 2 Eglu (one big, one small) coops which are great for keeping the birds dry and easy to clean. These are both housed in a 3m x 3m run with an overhead roof. The sides of the coop are open (hardwire cloth) which we have started to affix bamboo over the outside (like window blinds) to try and mitigate the rain blasting into the run. Slabs on the floor of the run as the original straw/mud ground became too wet and boggy and i wanted them to a place where they could be safe and dry.

The birds have access to my garden to free range all day, all weathers. The grass isn't draining great and is getting really boggy and muddy. Some parts of it, the chickens can stand and you can only see their legs, their feet are under water!

What's the best way to manage garden drainage for grassy areas or ways to keep the areas clear/clean. Any tips or tricks to manage draining, or keeping the chooks dry is appreciated.

Thanks all in advance

 

[Debbie292d]

So I live in the south of the UK and the weather has been near constant rain for what feels like months. I have 2 Eglu (one big, one small) coops which are great for keeping the birds dry and easy to clean. These are both housed in a 3m x 3m run with an overhead roof. The sides of the coop are open (hardwire cloth) which we have started to affix bamboo over the outside (like window blinds) to try and mitigate the rain blasting into the run. Slabs on the floor of the run as the original straw/mud ground became too wet and boggy and i wanted them to a place where they could be safe and dry.

The birds have access to my garden to free range all day, all weathers. The grass isn't draining great and is getting really boggy and muddy. Some parts of it, the chickens can stand and you can only see their legs, their feet are under water!

What's the best way to manage garden drainage for grassy areas or ways to keep the areas clear/clean. Any tips or tricks to manage draining, or keeping the chooks dry is appreciated.

Thanks all in advance

We've only had that happen once here. Gosh that was horrible so I can imagine what you're going through!

Hubby built bridges for them, as in planks on bricks so they could get from here to there without getting wet. All he did for drainage was make some "rivers" with a shovel to guide the water down the embankment behind us.

After that happened, we ordered a load of gravel to raise the driveway and parking area too.

I hope someone may have other tips for you!

 

[Muser]

We've only had that happen once here. Gosh that was horrible so I can imagine what you're going through!

Hubby built bridges for them, as in planks on bricks so they could get from here to there without getting wet. All he did for drainage was make some "rivers" with a shovel to guide the water down the embankment behind us.

After that happened, we ordered a load of gravel to raise the driveway and parking area too.

I hope someone may have other tips for you!

Thanks so much for your reply, we were wondering if making some trenches might help the rain move from the flatter bits of ground downwards. Sounds like yours worked quite well, and I love chicken bridges, what a cute idea!

 

[Debbie292d]

Thanks so much for your reply, we were wondering if making some trenches might help the rain move from the flatter bits of ground downwards. Sounds like yours worked quite well, and I love chicken bridges, what a cute idea!

Trenches, yes. I couldn't think of the word so said "rivers," but that's what his trenches became!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The drainage is what it is - what you have. Your options are how are you going to change that which you are not happy with.
Is your entire property flat and holds water? Or is it just where your eglus are?
Much of your action depends on how frequently these conditions are prevalent.
Trenches or swales are always an option given circumstance.
As with anything else involving wet conditions and drainage, higher ground is essential. You need to have the chickens a bit higher than surrounding ground or the situation will persist.
Have you considered bringing in enough rock, gravel and soil to raise the chicken yard above the rest of the area?
A lot of people like to have the chickens on flat ground but a slight slope is preferable.

 

[Shadrach]

What's the best way to manage garden drainage for grassy areas or ways to keep the areas clear/clean. Any tips or tricks to manage draining, or keeping the chooks dry is appreciated.

This 6m x 6m run I inherited used to look like this after some heavy rainfall.Over the years chicken shit and rotting bedding had formed a skin on the ground surface and rather than sort the problem out properly the previous keeps had just thrown more crap into the run.

I dug the run over about a foot deep and dug a small trench (1.5 metres long 8inches wide, 18 inches deep) at the top of the slope which I half filled with pea gravel with earth on top.
I don't have a decent picture of the run to hand, but we get a lot of rain here in Bristol and while the run still puddles, these puddles drain within hours rather than sit on the surface for days.

 

[Muser]

The drainage is what it is - what you have. Your options are how are you going to change that which you are not happy with.
Is your entire property flat and holds water? Or is it just where your eglus are?
Much of your action depends on how frequently these conditions are prevalent.
Trenches or swales are always an option given circumstance.
As with anything else involving wet conditions and drainage, higher ground is essential. You need to have the chickens a bit higher than surrounding ground or the situation will persist.
Have you considered bringing in enough rock, gravel and soil to raise the chicken yard above the rest of the area?
A lot of people like to have the chickens on flat ground but a slight slope is preferable.

I will try and elevate the run from the rest of the garden. I actually live on the side of a mountain so you'd think the water would just roll off... but nope, the ground must be leaning back just enough for it to pool in places.

Thanks for your response

 

[Muser]

This 6m x 6m run I inherited used to look like this after some heavy rainfall.Over the years chicken shit and rotting bedding had formed a skin on the ground surface and rather than sort the problem out properly the previous keeps had just thrown more crap into the run.
View attachment 3966917
I dug the run over about a foot deep and dug a small trench (1.5 metres long 8inches wide, 18 inches deep) at the top of the slope which I half filled with pea gravel with earth on top.
I don't have a decent picture of the run to hand, but we get a lot of rain here in Bristol and while the run still puddles, these puddles drain within hours rather than sit on the surface for days.
View attachment 3966935

This rains been awful of late hasn't it?!

Yeah, I think a trench and maybe some form of slope/elevation is what I need to do. I'll make a plan for the weekend... it's only supposed to get worse over the next few weeks... we will be alongside Atlantis if this keeps going!

Thanks for your response and glad you made a proper effort to sort your chickens unlike the previous owners!

 

[perkolator]

Sounds like you could use a truckload of arborist wood chip mulch. Add it in nice and deep, and the chicken run will elevate above the water table; over time the organics and added presence of worms will further loosen the soil to help drainage - but mainly it's the elevation above the water you want. There are pics on this site of chicken runs using deep litter, surrounded by flood waters and the chickens are dry

 

[Shadrach]

This rains been awful of late hasn't it?!

We do seem to have had a lot on a regular basis.