Managing Mud Season- what do you do?

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Probably none of the ones that have access to a gravelly or gritty-dirt surface to peck around in, which is a very high proportion of chickens

I can see where if you kept a chicken caged, or in a situation where it never had anything hard or gritty to peck around in, that might be different.

Pat

 

[columbiacritter]

Quote:
Hey, stop sending the snow darn it!!! It's March for crud sake and it's snowing like crazy right now. My ducks blame me and the hens get all grumpy. the banty roos try to fly from bare spot to bare spot so they don't have to touch it.

 

[LynneP]

Officially two weeks of winter left...nice day here in the east, only 2C but dazzling sunshine to melt the snow that fell yesterday. Big thing is mud and sheets of ice in the fields.

The extra light is grand and got 12 eggs today. Heard about a sun which has a 'busywork' of brick formations laid in it to give a mix of sandy soil and drier surface...

 

[lisahaschickens]

I am a newbie to chickens and my chicks are four week old and still closed in the coop because here in the NW, it NEVER dries out this time of year, unfortunately. Anyway, as soon as the sun comes out, I want to see if they won't come out into the run. Yesterday, I was going to dump so VERY lightly used (by them) shavings in the compost pile and then I paused and thought... maybe I should dump them in the run so they can absorb some of the wet and provide a dry spot.... but then I remembered that moldy bedding (straw, hay, shavings, etc) can be dangerous because it can make them sick, right? And it's sure to get moldy out there ASAP. So, I skipped my idea. Does anybody have any feedback on this idea? Should I try it or am I right about the mold?

 

[Cetawin]

Funny this topic came up I just recently spoke to Speckledhen about this very same thing.

I am not sure how to handle it. I have clay here so the run has been a mess. All of my girls look like little mud pies. I am thinking of adding some sand when it warms up...I just do not know.

There is also the possibility of building the run level up and a slight grade to allow drainage off the run into the lower field.

Oh on the topic of the concrete and such. My coop is raised on concrete pillars and their waterer and feeder sits on patio stones so they seem happy with that.

 

[vermontgal]

If you have the option, you could build a regular "base" by putting down geotextile with coarse rock, then gravel, then sand on top for the run, so that your run would really have drainage built into it. I think if I lived in the PNW and had a stationery run, that is what I would do.

The way you would do for a road base - this article has a decent explanation: http://www.askthebuilder.com/698_Build_A_Gravel_Driveway.shtml

 

[Okla-doodle-doo]

I 've heard all about not using starw but its the answer for me. I fluff it up and put several inches down. The birds walk it into the mud and after it starts to dry up they scratch it all up and it shreds because its damp and half rotted. They seem to have a great tiome and I have had no ill effects. After they get a little shredded I rake it up and use it to mulch the garden. Waste not want not!

 

[CATRAY44]

wHOOPES

 

[Picky Chicky]

I have the perfect answer to managing the mud....

I find that swearing... A LOT helps considerably.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Have you tried trenching around the run, preferably with an extension that leads the water off to someplace lower it can run off but if you can't do that then just dig a bigger trench. Even with clay soil, it WILL help dry it out somewhat.

Coarse mulch-type material will help too, or even straw as long as you will rake it out and replace with fresh before it starts getting real trompled into the mud or nasty.

Good luck,

Pat