Wet floor coop ideas

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

Best thing to do would be to keep any runoff from seeping/pouring into the coop.
Runoff along the ground and/or coming off the tarps is likely the source.

Yeah the source of the problem is all around as my coop is not water tight. This is just a very cheaply made coop and I do need to tear it down and build a new better one this Summer.
Working with what I have now though I need a temporary fix.

 

[3KillerBs]

First, fix the drainage. No bedding, not even the "gold standard" coarse wood chips will solve a water problem if the water keeps coming in.

Figure out where the water is coming from then dig diversion ditches to stop it coming in and lead it to where you need it to go.

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

First, fix the drainage. No bedding, not even the "gold standard" coarse wood chips will solve a water problem if the water keeps coming in.

Figure out where the water is coming from then dig diversion ditches to stop it coming in and lead it to where you need it to go.

I recently built the side awning to stop the rain coming in from that direction and also more permanent ventilation through winter.
They had their own paddling pool last week but I solved that problem quickly. - Sloped the ground away from the coop and dug a path for the water to drain away and around the coop leading outside the enclosure. No more pooling water.

But, the wetness still is coming in possibly up from the ground itself somehow?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I recently built the side awning to stop the rain coming in from that direction and also more permanent ventilation through winter.
They had their own paddling pool last week but I solved that problem quickly. - Sloped the ground away from the coop and dug a path for the water to drain away and around the coop leading outside the enclosure. No more pooling water.

But, the wetness still is coming in possibly up from the ground itself somehow?

Sounds like you've got the straight run off and through streams handled. If your wet Australia (which I assume you must be in a more tropical area than outback) is like my wet Oregon, the constant drizzle gets blown into the coop area and the surround ground wicks moisture in. I don't have run off or flow through...it's simply wind blowing rain into the run, and birds tracking moisture into the run, and the ground absorbing the moisture from the areas surrounding the run.

Did I mention Oregon is wet? (I once counted 92 straight days of drizzle...Lewis and Clark's famous expedition journals grouse about how wet Oregon is..."it rains...day x it rains still...day xx this is the rainiest country we have ever observed. LOL).

So yeah...it's being absorbed through the ground and air moisture. Pine shavings will help that tremendously especially for feather footed Silkies. I like to keep my Silkies on smaller bark chips (greater run) and pine shavings (coop run).

Good luck fighting back the moisture.

LofMc

 

[3KillerBs]

I recently built the side awning to stop the rain coming in from that direction and also more permanent ventilation through winter.
They had their own paddling pool last week but I solved that problem quickly. - Sloped the ground away from the coop and dug a path for the water to drain away and around the coop leading outside the enclosure. No more pooling water.

But, the wetness still is coming in possibly up from the ground itself somehow?

At this point you're probably ready to try the coarse wood chips.

 

[rosemarythyme]

At this point you're probably ready to try the coarse wood chips.

x2. I have a LOT of ground water, to the point that I have never watered the lawn in over 6 years and yet it stays green even without rain for 60+ summer days. My coop is now slightly elevated to keep it dry, but I previously had a coop that sat on the ground (and my brooder, taken from that, still sits on the ground). I find that if I build up a good thick layer of deep litter with lots of wood chips in it, most of the moisture wicks down into the ground below without issue. That's how I handle brooding chicks even with rain... I sit the brooder on a taller mound of litter and it stays 90% dry without me needing to do anything else.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I'm going to also throw in a good word for pelletized pine horse bedding. My run completely flooded this past October. I'm talking ankle deep in some places after getting 14 inches of rain in a 36 hour period. I dumped those pellets on the worst spots and BAM - dried it right up. Within minutes. The pellets absorb the water and turn back into sawdust.

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

If I use wood chips though how do they dust bath? That's why I like sand in the coop because it's easy to scoop poop daily to keep it clean and they love to dust bath in it.
I'm thinking to build a new coop beside this one with a concrete slab to start with.

 

[3KillerBs]

If I use wood chips though how do they dust bath? That's why I like sand in the coop because it's easy to scoop poop daily to keep it clean and they love to dust bath in it.
I'm thinking to build a new coop beside this one with a concrete slab to start with.

They dig in the dirt in their run -- digging through the bedding if necessary.

 

[rosemarythyme]

They dig in the dirt in their run -- digging through the bedding if necessary.

x2, or you can add a bin of dirt for them to use, though I personally don't want them dust bathing inside the coop (it's dusty enough!)