Wet pine shavings, help!

[PolishChickMama]

Hello Everyone,
We just put our 12 week old Polish girls outside in their brand spankin new coop and run. For the bottom of the run we used topsoil, then a thin layer of sand and then about 4 inches of pine shavings. THEN, we had a terrible storm and I'm pretty sure water is seeping up through the ground and causing the bottom layer of pine shavings to be wet. The sun has managed to dry out the top layer of shavings but I just went out and turned everything in hopes the rest will dry. Will this work or should we do something more? Don't want my girls getting sick. Thank you for any helpful advice. (I'm hoping I don't have to replace all the pine shavings like "alessadry" was advised, but I will if that's what's best).

 

[coach723]

It depends on how wet everything is and whether water is still coming in there. If the shavings are just soaked and dripping I'd change them out. If they are damp then turning them regularly may be enough to dry them out. If this happens regularly you are going to have moisture and mold issues.
If the run is not covered, then covering it may help in the future. If water is coming up from underground then I would move the coop to drier/higher ground rather than having to deal with this all the time, or every time it rains hard. Also possible that water is running under the run framing and getting things wet, run off from the coop roof or other structures could be increasing the wetness there. High and dry ground is the best place for a coop, and any runoff from other structures may need to be diverted. Having to deal with a wet coop would not be on my 'happy day' list.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Joining in here, we are having Hurricane Lane pass us, it's so slow moving that it's been horrible downpour since Wed (Aug 22). Today it's raining but no downpours & the yard is draining but soaked. The neighbors rock wall sprung a leak, in the back of my Chicken House I was able to drain the standing water, removed all the sopping shavings (dark colored) out.

I've had my 4BOs (19wks) in the brooder (3x8x2) that's in the patio, they did well but today they were suffering from "cabin fever" as was Hubby. No puddles in the CH (8x12x7), ground not muddy but the ground is wet under the shavings on the high section (right, shavings 4months in). I have about 4" of shavings, guessing about an 1" from the ground wet/damp, I added about 3/4 bag of compress shavings, they mixed it up.

Concerned but they needed more room ... Thinking of giving them a couple days out there to stretch their legs, then back in the brooder for a few more days, rotating until he ground has a chance to dry. Their CH never got this wet ever, almost 3yrs.

Don't want them getting sick ... I intend to monitor for mold & mildew, ferment their feed, what more should I do?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

View attachment 1515531 View attachment 1515532 View attachment 1515533 Joining in here, we are having Hurricane Lane pass us, it's so slow moving that it's been horrible downpour since Wed (Aug 22). Today it's raining but no downpours & the yard is draining but soaked. The neighbors rock wall sprung a leak, in the back of my Chicken House I was able to drain the standing water, removed all the sopping shavings (dark colored) out.

I've had my 4BOs (19wks) in the brooder (3x8x2) that's in the patio, they did well but today they were suffering from "cabin fever" as was Hubby. No puddles in the CH (8x12x7), ground not muddy but the ground is wet under the shavings on the high section (right, shavings 4months in). I have about 4" of shavings, guessing about an 1" from the ground wet/damp, I added about 3/4 bag of compress shavings, they mixed it up.

Concerned but they needed more room ... Thinking of giving them a couple days out there to stretch their legs, then back in the brooder for a few more days, rotating until he ground has a chance to dry. Their CH never got this wet ever, almost 3yrs.

Don't want them getting sick ... I intend to monitor for mold & mildew, ferment their feed, what more should I do?

I'm sorry your are going through this
It sounds like you are doing what you can, I agree, they go stir crazy when confined.
Once it stops raining, then see where you are with the cleanup, you may need to remove most of the bedding or spread it out/turn it so it dries.

The only thing I would watch for would be symptoms of Coccidiosis. Damp, warm weather, even if birds have built resistance can cause an overload. Watch for funky droppings, not always bloody (as you know).

 

[ChickNanny13]

Thank you @Wyorp Rock Weather Weather forecast is rain thru next Wed Just hoping it's not downpours like we've had the past 3 - 4 days. It's being said it will take at least 2 - 3 wks of sunny weather for the grounds to dry out

Yes, I will be monitoring them very closely, I keep Corid Oral in the frig. I don't have a problem replacing all the shavings, hoping what's in there will help dry out the ground some. I picked up several bags of shavings anticipating having to do a complete replacement.

Was wondering if those pellets used for horse stalls would help? Thank you for your advice and support, really appreciate it

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you @Wyorp Rock Weather Weather forecast is rain thru next Wed Just hoping it's not downpours like we've had the past 3 - 4 days. It's being said it will take at least 2 - 3 wks of sunny weather for the grounds to dry out

Yes, I will be monitoring them very closely, I keep Corid Oral in the frig. I don't have a problem replacing all the shavings, hoping what's in there will help dry out the ground some. I picked up several bags of shavings anticipating having to do a complete replacement.

Was wondering if those pellets used for horse stalls would help? Thank you for your advice and support, really appreciate it

I'm not familiar with how the horse stall pellets work, so hopefully someone will chime in.

Having wet bedding can be such a mess, I hope it dries quickly and the rain subsides soon.

 

[coach723]

I pretty much do as you are to get things dried out. If my shavings are not sopping I will try to let them dry in the sun, if they are sopping I just throw them out out of concern for mold. I've never used the pellets, but assume they are intended for absorbtion in stalls and most stalls are cleaned at least weekly or more, so don't think they would be good to stay long term due to mold issues from holding moisture. After the rain has passed and it's safe to do so, you can put fans out blowing across the wet area to move the air and speed up (relatively speaking) the drying out. There have been times that I've put shavings down long enough to absorb moisture, and then change them out again, depends how wet it is. I usually have to deal with it a few times every year between tropical storms, hurricanes and torrential thunderstorms. Luckily we have very sandy soil so drainage is not an issue.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Thank you @coach723 ... Decided against the pellets, my thoughts being the same about clean up. I removed more soppy shavings & add, the girls were so helpful moving it around for me. Think this will be the routine I keep up with until things dry out In the past, i'd lay it out in the patio to dry but my patio's been flooding cause a "neighbor" directed his flooding into my yard So right now piling in the back to be used as mulch.

Unfortunately we have clay soil, it's nasty. Rain & thunderstorms the CH does well but the amount of rain we got from this hurricane (passing) was horrible. Unfortunately it's going to be awhile before we have a sunny day. Thanks for reassuring me I'm on the right track.

 

[coach723]

Hope you dry out soon! Between the volcano/earthquakes, lava and now hurricane, I hope you get some "quiet and uneventful" for a while. We've had a very quiet season (so far) this year from the Atlantic, crossing my fingers it continues.

 

[ChickNanny13]

My daughter & her family are in Lithia, I know the