Rethinking dirt floor of coop…what options we have

[PoppasGrill]

Here it is a few days after TS Debby made her nasty way across the farm, torrential rain for days on end, and this is what the coops are looking like.

We are in Central Florida, which is why we have the open air coops, and have been using straw on the ground to use as compost, and scrape the coops out every few months.
This is the first major storm that flooded all the coops in the 3+ years we’ve been here.
The Ladies are not very happy with us right now, as they think we have neglected them in this time of need.

This is the same coop after a normal afternoon thunderstorm, door is closed so the roosters let the ladies eat in peace.
Anywho, my better half has hauled in 8 tons of sand , one bag at a time and shoveled it in the coop, but the ladies don’t seem to like the feel of the sand and are staying up on the roosting bars.
She has tried, to the point of exhaustion, to cover all the coop ground and the donkey stall area.
Will have to wait and see how the sand works out to keeping it from going back to mud.

 

[SourRoses]

I would put pavers down on top of the new sand. The best bedding for any kind of damp conditions are the pine pellets for horse stalls, they are super dry and very absorbent.
They can also work in a pinch without flooring, to suck up a lot of moisture. I use pine pellets on top of a dirt floor, but our ground is a little higher than yours seems to be, which is why I suggested the pavers first for you.

I would not use straw in a humid environment like we have. The interior of each stalk tends to mold and you can only see the exterior waxy layer that will still look "clean". This can cause aspergillosis respiratory symptoms in a flock.

 

[KimbosKluckers]

Oh my what a mess I’d build a drainage ditch or French drain, maybe a berm? That may help a lot for future storms. Also I really like using mulch or wood chips for my run. Sorry you’re dealing with this mess.

 

[PoppasGrill]

I would put pavers down on top of the new sand. The best bedding for any kind of damp conditions are the pine pellets for horse stalls, they are super dry and very absorbent.
They can also work in a pinch without flooring, to suck up a lot of moisture. I use pine pellets on top of a dirt floor, but our ground is a little higher than yours seems to be, which is why I suggested the pavers first for you.

I would not use straw in a humid environment like we have. The interior of each stalk tends to mold and you can only see the exterior waxy layer that will still look "clean". This can cause aspergillosis respiratory symptoms in a flock.

Sorry, but I misstated, we have coastal hey that we use in the coop floor, and straw in the nesting boxes.
Usually the area dries up pretty quick and normally the drainage is better on a normal afternoon thunderstorm.
This is the worse we’ve seen it so far.
Will check into the pellets and see what we can come up with.
Have talked about getting a few truckloads of dirt brought in to build up the coops.
We have a couple old kennels with concrete floors that were our first coops, they also got flooded in this storm, but drained fairly quick.

 

[Penpal]

It looks like you have a wall of plastic on one of those sides. The next time you expect a torrent, hang plastic on the wind sides of the coop. Take an additional piece and tuck it under the plastic, down to the ground and out a foot or so from the wall. This will help to move the rain away from the coop.

I agree about the straw. I use it in the winter months, but I live in Michigan.

 

[aart]

Have talked about getting a few truckloads of dirt brought in to build up the coops.

There ya go!
That's the best solution against future floods.

 

[PoppasGrill]

My wife did what she could before the storm, and during when she saw the issues that were arising.
I’m out of town because of working the storm.
They didn’t have an accurate path until the farm was already getting hit for her to know which way the winds were coming in from. Which is why there are tarps on one side but not the other.
We are converting our barn to a big coop and will be tearing down this hillbilly condo coop to rebuild a proper coop. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/got-a-little-help-from-the-ladies….1630161/post-27927502

Might not finish until next year, but will have better ideas from BYC and from experience to give the girls a castle they deserve.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Unfortunately when you have flooding conditions, nothing's going to really keep it dry. Best you can do is elevate the floor (like with the addition of dirt as you've mentioned) and maximize drainage so that it drains out as quickly as possible. Otherwise just gotta sit it out.

 

[PoppasGrill]

The sand seems to have made a good base, along with the crappy heat, to dry up the coops.

Still a few low spots to fill in, but better than it was.

The outside of the coops has drained already, no standing water.
Will probably bring in more sand to build up the coops and get through storm season. Hope by the end of storm season, November, we will have the barn ready and this shelter torn down.

 

[RobochickofLubbock]

Here it is a few days after TS Debby made her nasty way across the farm, torrential rain for days on end, and this is what the coops are looking like.

View attachment 3913314
View attachment 3913315
View attachment 3913316
We are in Central Florida, which is why we have the open air coops, and have been using straw on the ground to use as compost, and scrape the coops out every few months.
This is the first major storm that flooded all the coops in the 3+ years we’ve been here.
The Ladies are not very happy with us right now, as they think we have neglected them in this time of need.
View attachment 3913322
This is the same coop after a normal afternoon thunderstorm, door is closed so the roosters let the ladies eat in peace.
Anywho, my better half has hauled in 8 tons of sand , one bag at a time and shoveled it in the coop, but the ladies don’t seem to like the feel of the sand and are staying up on the roosting bars.
She has tried, to the point of exhaustion, to cover all the coop ground and the donkey stall area.
Will have to wait and see how the sand works out to keeping it from going back to mud.