Mud in run, Adding Sand?

[Cowgrl4life]

I have a 12' by 24' run that with about three days of rain has become a complete mud pit. I'm talking two to three inches of slimy mud in at least half of the coop... I cant even walk through its so bad. We are thinking sand would be the answer, but I just want to check others experience on here. If we put in sand 3-5 Inches deep, do you think this will be enough to combat our mud problem? We were thinking to pick it up tonight, but I just want to make sure its going to work before I go spend all this money!

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

if we put in sand 3-5 Inches deep, do you think this will be enough to combat our mud problem?

It would be a very good start​

 

[Cowgrl4life]

Quote:
It would be a very good start

A good start? Is there anything else I should be doing? Any Ideas?

 

[ducks4you]

I put sand in last year, and it drains very well. DO IT.

 

[babyblue]

Quote:
It would be a very good start

A good start? Is there anything else I should be doing? Any Ideas?

bear means to say that any amount of sand will help with drainage. 3-5 inches will help clear up the mud and drain water off. the deeper the sand the quicker water drains. so 8 or 10 inches of sand drain faster then 3-5 inches. also over time the chickens will scratch around, kick sand everwhere and a little bit will run off. slowly over time this and the sand compacting will lower the level of sand from 3-5 to 2-3. and again the deeper the sand the better the drainage.

 

[Oven Ready]

If you have a manual lawn aerator (like a fork but with hollow tangs) or the one's that look like lawnmowers but have either spikes or hollow spikes that take cores out (better in my opinion) then aerate first and then add grit/rough sand (don't use childrens play sand).

This decompacts the soil, gets the sand down deep providing soil deep drainage, not just hiding the mud underneath. If your ground has been compacted (and chickens can do this easily if they walk on it all day every day) you'll find that grass doesn't grow as well but weeds do. Once aerated and sanded the grass will grow better due to better drainage, better air mixture in the soil and more worms.

Sorry if that sounds like an advert for a lawn aerator, but if you need one call 555-1010, that number again 555-1010 (just joking

)

 

[patandchickens]

It will help, but if your mud is THAT bad, 3-5" of sand dumped into wet mud will not help much or for long. It is indeed a start, though.

Best results come from putting sand on DRY ground - for whatever reason, that prevents the sand from disappearing quickly into the mud -- but you do what you gotta. And you can certainly add more later, as finances permit.

I would not suggest relying only on sand however. There are a bunch of other things you can and should do to help keep things drier -- see the "fixing a muddy run" page linked in my .sig below.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[rebecky1305]

If you can, put 3-4 inches of gravel down first, than put garden cloth over that, than at least 3-4 inches of sand (5-6" would be better). The garden cloth will keep the sand from settling into the gravel. This worked for my parents years ago when their run was muddy.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Our run is sand and it is located at the bottom of a hill, in a very wet area. Our run is dry, dry, dry! I drains beautifully. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the run is roofed, but even before we roofed it, it never got muddy.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

A good start? Is there anything else I should be doing?

Put that down to start with, and see if it's going to be enough.

If you can build it up a little higher than the surrounding area, water will run off.

Look at how the water moves across your property and see if a little ditch or some drain pipes could steer water away.

If the mud is deep, you may have to add more sand or some gravel later on​