Chicken Runs

We worked on our chicken runs today for a bit. Chicken runs are the outdoor area attached to the coop, where the chickens can step outside and hunt for bugs and get some sunshine. Ours have gotten so muddy and gross because they are not covered, so I bought some tarps to cover them with. My husband came out to help me construct a support for the big run, to help with water runoff when it rains. You don't want to have the water pool up on the tarp, as it can cause a lot of weight and pull down your whole run if you are not careful! So now our little coop area looks a bit like a shanty town, but hopefully it will help dry them out a bit.

I was reading on www.backyardchickens.com to see what else you can do to prevent the run area from getting so muddy. One recommendation I read, was to wait until summer, and the dirt/mud all gets rock hard from the baking sun, and then bring in as much sand as you can, at least 4-6" to cover the whole run area. The birds love to take their dust baths in the sand, and it shouldn't muddy up when the rains come. They said not to add sand to the mud, or it will just sink in and disappear. The trick is waiting until the mud dries up nice and hard. I'm hoping to try this method, if fund allow for us the get the sand trucked in here later in the summer. Living in the Pacific Northwest, mud is a constant battle from October-June. So it will be great if it works!