wet run and roof isn't helping?

[Hennyhandler]

I have pens with tarps over the top and the rain is not leaking through it but the ground is still wet and they are too. I think that the rain is coming in sideways. I am planning on putting a tin roof on the top soon but if the rain is coming in the sides and the ground doesn't have the chance to soak it up cause it is raining so much then this isn't going to fix the whole problem. I know with a roof across all the pens instead of broken up by tarps will be a big difference.
But what I am asking is does anyone out there put tarps up on ALL three sides or some kind of wall structure? Ideas, opinions, and pictures are welcome.

 

[OR4-hmom]

I don't have pictures but I do wrap the run walls with our older green house plastic to prevent the rain blowing in.

Without the gutters we would still have mud around the edges of the runs, they scratch around in the mud and then I have to wash lots of chicken feet. We ran extensions off the down spouts about 5 feet.

 

[aggiemae]

Rain usually comes from the same direction, here it's from the south so we pitched our run roof from north to south so the south side is the lowest side of the run but about 1/3 off the run was getting soaked with rain and I don't want to add a half wall becasue I want the circulation in summer.

As long as there are dry areas some rain getting in might not be a bad thing. Try building up your mulch where the ground is getting wet to keep the hens above the mud. Mulching like this will improve your drainage and also encourage insects and worms to come into the run. If you haven't already, consider putting up a roost or two so your birds can get off the wet if they want too and if you have a wood pile put in a few logs too. If the run is still wet you can dig a deep trench and fill it with gravel to improve drainage but winter isn't really the best time for this.

I wanted to add that our chickens don't really seem to mind wet or cold much. Unless they are laying, they never go inside the coop during the day no natter how wet or cold it is is. They free range but they will go into the run and sit on the roost if it's really windy out. I have leaves and hays about a foot deep on the run floor. When I check on the hens at night I toss a few handful of cracked corn and wild bird seed out into the run and they do enjoy scratching for those few hours between sun rise and when they are let out into the yard but they don't get down to the wet floor much.

 

[Hennyhandler]

I had thought about gutters. Maybe I should add them to help out but I think aggiemae may be right. I need to build the pen back up since it seems to be lower then the ground around it. Digging a trench is a good idea but I agree. Maybe not now in this weather. LOL! Thanks for the ideas.

 

[The Lazy L]

I have pens with tarps over the top and the rain is not leaking through it but the ground is still wet and they are too. I think that the rain is coming in sideways. I am planning on putting a tin roof on the top soon but if the rain is coming in the sides and the ground doesn't have the chance to soak it up cause it is raining so much then this isn't going to fix the whole problem. I know with a roof across all the pens instead of broken up by tarps will be a big difference.
But what I am asking is does anyone out there put tarps up on ALL three sides or some kind of wall structure? Ideas, opinions, and pictures are welcome.

North wall is covered with steel "siding" and run's roof either covered with a roof or a tarp.

Wettest the sand floor has been is a few feet along the south wall. Sand floor is 3" higher then the ground so I don't have rain runoff coming into the coop that way.