What bedding to use in chicken run that is poorly drained and wet

[rosemarythyme]

I'll for sure look into the peat moss. It being able to dry despite the wet ground would be great. Especially for a dust bath, I use sand but they often have difficulty bathing in it since it's not that dry. Thanks for the suggestion!

I use peat moss for the dust bath - it works great if you can keep it completely dry. But if it gets waterlogged it takes forever to dry out (which is why it's used in gardening, it holds onto water very well).

Because of all the rain we get, my dust bath is fully enclosed and only opened up on dry days.

 

[ktomacie]

We just went over this with our run.. we didn't want the ducks making it a mud puddle for the chickens so we built up the entire thing with 6" of drive way gravel and then we are topping it with dirt/grass. The driveway gravel is amazing at allowing water drainage and was a cheap fix for us. We also built up one side higher than the other so we could force water flow where we wanted it to go.

 

[EmilyRobb]

@Skyla you may be best off by using a well draining material underneath an absorbent/cushioning one. I use gravel or sand or tiny peddles as a base, similar to in a plant pot so that the soil doesn't get soggy. Most of my flocks have feathered feet, so I layer pine wood shavings about 3 inches deep on top just for cushioning, The shavings are also absorbent so that helps as well, and when I need to change them I'll just use a fan rake which takes away the shavings without disrupting the gravel. I've heard of people who use screens as well as a base for drainage but the mesh would have to be very fine so that chicken toes don't get caught or, if you're putting a medium on top, it doesn't fall through

 

[evilleramsfan]

I have a 2 inch drain pipe sloping out from the low point of the run. I was afraid 3 inch or larger could possibly allow something in. It gets muddy, but dries out relatively quickly.