How To Fix A Muddy Run Chicken Coop

Thank you for this - I have this problem right now after we had a metre of snowfall this week. Its actually my duck run and they look bedraggled even though they usually love mud - I am also worried about mold issues. I had decided last night to lay pallets out as an interim solution - we still have a lot of melt to go. I will plan for a more enduring fix in Spring. Many thanks again Pat !

All this can be a good solution no doubt. I live on clay too and had a muddy run. The soil smelled and after a year it was not alive anymore. However I used another strategy that worked great.
“More roads lead to Rome.”

I did not cover it against rain. I made holes with pebbles/gravel for drainage and extended the run to give the chickens more space. I add compost from gardening and lots of brown leaves every autumn to compensate the nitrates in the chicken poop.
I scatter grains in the run that the chickens partly pick up and what they don’t like is growing. My run is partly green now and the soil is alive. I love it this way and I think it’s more natural and healthier for the chickens too.

Good article~

Thanks for the good ideas in your article.

Awesome article! Building an outdoor run right now! Thanks!!

I liked the different ideas with many different ideas on handling mud in the chicken run. Many which I never thought of. Thank you Very much/

This is a well written article, but I wish it had more pictures to help explain. And, you should explain what 'whack' means...unless it was typo.

can someone please explain “So add a good big whack of whatever you can readily get“
I am looking for a bandaid to the mud pit. We expanded our run last summer and I had no idea until wet season that was a WET corner of the yard.
We will cover and add gravel this spring but for now... please tell me what a big whack is?! My husband thinks it was a typo ... bag? Maybe?

Thank you for this!! Great article, and extremely helpful.

this is very good and wise

Thank you, I shall refer to this if my chicken run ever becomes overwhelmed with water.

Love this article. Lots of info on preventing & fixing your run. Great read.

A great article written by someone with vast experience and techniques for solving a problem many of us face. Suggestions for immediate action and permanent fixes are very helpful. Materials are covered for efficiency, cost and endurance.
An article worth tagging for reviewing before new structures are sited and/or built.

some good ideas to try