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Barnyard Buddies:  how do you deal with MUD around livestock in winte  |
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BamaSuzy
True Blue Farmgirl
138 Posts
Alabama
USA
138 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 27 2006 : 07:38:27 AM
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How do you deal with all the mud around your livestock in the winter???
I used cap blocks to build a flat "patio" outside the front goat shed about two or three years ago and really need to do that to the back goat enclosure...
But around the three entrances to the chicken house it is awful with terrible DEEP mud...
If I put down sawdust I just get a solution of mud AND sawdust....and putting down hay just means I get SLICK hay!
Any suggestions??? what do you do????
I slid down a couple of days ago and kept sliding until I was laying FLAT OF MY BACK in the mud in front of the chicken house---and I was being CAREFUL! HELP! It looks awful, is a safety hazard, and CAN'T be good for the animals!
Today is sunny but they are predicting more thunderstorms by Friday so that will mean even more mud!
You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt! |
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Bluewrenn
True Blue Farmgirl
1122 Posts
Erin
Texas
USA
1122 Posts |
Posted - Dec 27 2006 : 08:53:05 AM
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Have you tried playground sand from Home Depot? It will build up the dirt there by the coop but since sand drains well, it shouldn't get too muddy. Just make sure that it is sloped away from the coop so the water doesn't go into the coop. You may have to drop some sand in the coop too.
My Homesteading Journal http://toomyvara.livejournal.com
My craft journal http://bluewrenn.livejournal.com
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lamarguerite farm
True Blue Farmgirl
649 Posts
missy
Battle Ground
Wa
USA
649 Posts |
Posted - Dec 27 2006 : 10:20:06 AM
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I'm having the same issues as well and we even put in a french drain in front of the coop which really hasn't done much of anything. It's just a mucky, yucky mess. a friend of min that has a farm recommended something that she uses and refers to it as hog fuel. She gets it from a place where you can get bark, sand, soil, etc. and they deliver it to her house. It's from tree bark, I think ceder. It has almost a hairy appearance to it and is shredded. You put down about six inches and the fibers become intertwined and create almost a mat over the mud. she said it lasts for a couple of years and she has large animals that walk over it.
Blessings,
Missy
If you have a dream, even if you don't feel qualified to accomplish it, just try your hardest.-Maggie Jensen
http://18happyhens.blogspot.com
http://LamargueriteFarm.etsy.com |
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beckels
True Blue Farmgirl
237 Posts
becky
warrington
pa
USA
237 Posts |
Posted - Dec 27 2006 : 10:51:31 AM
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It's look horrible but I placed free pallets in areas where the mud and muck was thick to get access to my rabbit shed (and then tore them apart and burned them in the spring for camping)
beckels |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Dec 27 2006 : 11:27:28 AM
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I put out some old coal (the small chunk kind) that I found in a barrel when we moved here. I think the house used to have coal heat years ago) and especially in front of the little milk barn it really helped. I am clumsy anyhow and don't need slick spots for sure. I have seen folks use the wood chunks like for gardens. They break down easier and may be better. I only put the coal where nothing ever grows..in the paths. It needs to be replentished..it has started sinking down into the mud and going to China I guess...but it does help.
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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horse
True Blue Farmgirl
371 Posts
laura
pontotoc
mississippi
USA
371 Posts |
Posted - Dec 27 2006 : 12:15:38 PM
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| Girl! Know what you are talking about. I also have trouble with mud around here. It's every where, at the horse barn, at the cows hay pen, and at my goat pen. Where I'm at it is gummy and you sink all the way up to your knees. Glad ( or sorry) to hear I wasn't the only one who ended up on her back trying to feed. |
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Marybeth
True Blue Farmgirl
6418 Posts
Mary Beth
Stanwood
Wa 98292
USA
6418 Posts |
Posted - Dec 27 2006 : 12:27:13 PM
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We always used hogged fuel in front of the horse outside stalls. It works great but you have to scoop out the mud first. At least we always did. We tried sand once, because someone said it worked, well, it became like quick sand so we scooped it out. Sand is great for the arena though. Never had that trouble around the chicken house or rabbit pens. Hope this helps. MB
www.strawberryhillsfarm.blogspot.com
"Life may not be the party we hoped for...but while we are here we might as well dance!" |
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windypines
True Blue Farmgirl
4525 Posts
Michele
Bruce
Wisconsin
USA
4525 Posts |
Posted - Dec 27 2006 : 2:20:07 PM
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| Mud is such a lovely problem. Best would be to scoop out all the muck, and get some clay sand mix. We did that around our heated water, and what a difference for our cows. Get it packed down good. It was also screened, so no added rocks. We also did it where the cows walk into the barn. Concrete works the best, but can't afford as much as we would need. |
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Shirley
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Shirley
Olympia
Wa
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Dec 28 2006 : 8:01:53 PM
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We have used sand before in the fall before the rains start for the llamas , and it worked good, haul fuel is good to.
We dont use sand for the sheep, because the sand get into thier fleece and the shearer isnt real happy with that :)
shirley |
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CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
Posted - Dec 28 2006 : 8:25:47 PM
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suzy .. i think you have hit it on the head separating ME from you true blue farmgirls .. i don't think i could deal with the muck and mud .. lordy! it's hard enough keeping these floors cleaned with two DAWGS .. but then .. i guess most cows don't come inside!
True Friends, Frannie
CABIN CREEK FARM
KENTUCKY
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Dec 29 2006 : 07:07:59 AM
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Frannie, you get used to it. If you have an old farmhouse, you generally have a mudroom. That's a great place to get rid of gross boots and smelly work clothes. These days I'm stopping at the hydrant to rinse off my tall rubber boots. I'm pretty skilled at walking in the squish (after doing it for decades) but I did get knocked down the other day by a 16.3 gelding trying to get away from another horse who thought the big guy was too close. He didn't mean to knock me, and he did his best to not step on me. (Humans are even worse footing than mud.) And I had company at the time, so I couldn't strip in the laundry room.
Mostly we just deal with it. Can't use sand, because you can't feed horses where there's sand without risking sand colic. Don't want to do gravel, for concern over enteroliths and broken teeth. Don't want to do ag lime, because that often just squishes in and turns to concrete in dry weather. Don't want to do concrete because it's hard on the legs.
Good drainage is wonderful, if you have it; but that means some serious construction and layering, like when they build roads or arenas. The previous owners of our place had cattle out there, and they put down some huge chunks of concrete and buried them. Of course now they're working their way up. *sigh*
Summer is so much easier. We'll be adding some tile to a low place then. And I hope to have them out on grass more. |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Dec 29 2006 : 12:25:55 PM
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We use tons of wood chips that we get from the tree-trimming companies around the surrounding towns - they'll deliver it free sometimes, and for just a little cash others - it really helps the mud, and they just sort of "disappear" eventually into the soil, so it seems like a good solution for us. Mud really IS the universal farm problem in rain/winter, isn't it? Yuck!!!
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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BamaSuzy
True Blue Farmgirl
138 Posts
Alabama
USA
138 Posts |
Posted - Dec 31 2006 : 08:33:06 AM
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someone suggested to me that a temporary solution would be to get old carpet pieces and at least place them in front of the doors....so I may try that...it would be IMPOSSIBLE to shovel out the mud...that would mean moving yards and yards of dirt...
Most of the chickens run free about the farm in the day time so they are not there doing damage but it's the areas right by the gates and doors that are the worst...
It had just about dried out and then we started having major thunderstorms in the night so here we go again...I looked out a few minutes ago preparing to go feed and water and it looks like a giant slippery mud hole all around again...
I wormed all the goats yesterday with the Equine wormer (I really don't like to use anything but the herbal wormer) but I thought with all this mud it might be best to go ahead and worm everybody...
If I keep sliding down in this mud, somebody may need to worm me!!!
You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt! |
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_Rebecca_
True Blue Farmgirl
568 Posts
Rebecca
OK
USA
568 Posts |
Posted - Dec 31 2006 : 08:44:58 AM
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http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/
This is a link to a workshop on Horses & Mud. Maybe there are workshops on the same topic in other areas,
HTH,
.·:*¨¨* :·.Rebecca.·:*¨¨* :·.
Wife of Jonathan, Mother of Joel, Caitlyn, Elia, Nathanael |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22944 Posts
22944 Posts |
Posted - Dec 31 2006 : 9:51:04 PM
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I suggest doing several things that all relate to soil quality improvement which will (Eventually) help with drainage. First of all for a quick fix for the winter I would go buy bags and bags of peat moss. Peat Moss will absorb a lot of water and give it back to the ground slower so you get less of the puddling and nasty mud. Since the peat moss is an organic substance it will break down and work in to the soil. The more organic matter you get into the soil- the better it will drain (as a general rule). Also you can buy loam for the soil which can help get more space between the soil particles which again helps with drainage. Another route to take is to buy potting soil to "back fill" the lower areas. This is great because potting soil is designed to be high drainage unless you buy special.
After putting down the peat moss/ loam/ potting soil I would recommend getting some wood shavings (bedding style) and carpeting the worst areas with that too. Not only will the shavings absorb yet more water, add yet more organic matter to the soil, but it will put down a barrier that it will take a while for the soil to work up through.
We are fighting this very problem at the dog park here in Moscow and I know how frustrating it is :) Hope some of these ideas help. |
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Jan 01 2007 : 04:17:49 AM
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Alee, one of the problems with using organic matter in drylots is they hold moisture in longer-- it actually takes longer for the area to dry out. I have tons and tons of soiled bedding that I've tried using in all sorts of ways, including making footing for arena use, and it just stays slick and sodden, even longer than plain soil.
Adding organic matter really helps soil in which you wish to grow things, because it gives a steady supply of moisture. But I'd not want to use it with my livestock. |
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ponyexpress
True Blue Farmgirl
320 Posts
Sandy
Kirkwood
Missouri
USA
320 Posts |
Posted - Jan 01 2007 : 3:14:37 PM
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Oh Mary Ann, I too have been knocked on my kiester by those adoring horses. Mine was chasing away a little mini horse who was too close to his lady-friend. Which is all well and good, except that I got caught in the cross-fire! I gave him a stern lecture in my best mother-voice about bad manners, pointing finger and all, and he SEEMED to humbly lower his head and back up until his tail was to the fence boards. Now, we all know that lecturing a horse is about as useful as spitting in the wind, but I was muddy and annoyed and someone was going to hear about it!
Why is it that things like that happen in the worst of areas? In the mud, in the freshest pile of manure, you name it!
I don't iron anymore. If I'm not wrinkle-free, why should my clothes be? |
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TillieB
Farmgirl in Training
25 Posts
Marjorie
Berwick
ME
USA
25 Posts |
Posted - Jan 01 2007 : 3:41:10 PM
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| In last months issue of Backyard Poultry there was an article about bedding for chicken runs. Peat moss is a 1000 times more absorbent than straw or shavings. So I covered my chicken run with it (my run is also covered) and at first the girls hated it, but within a day it packed down and it is the driest my chicken run has ever been. It created a nice crusty layer that absorbs water and such. I'm in Maine and mud season doesn't hit till March so I don't know about your mud down south, but it sure made a nice dry run. We've had a lot of rain and not a lot of freezing temps, the whole area around the chicken house is mucky but not where the peat moss is. Pretty cool stuff. |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22944 Posts
22944 Posts |
Posted - Jan 02 2007 : 06:22:59 AM
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It depends on what type of organic matter you use as to whether it will hold the moisture more or less. I agree that soiled bedding holds a lot of moisture- some of the problem with soiled bedding though is that you are putting down absorbative substance (Straw, shavings or whatever) mixed with a very slick substance- Manure! I have worked at several horse farms and know from experience that if you lay down the soiled bedding very thickly it will hold moisture too much to the soil, but if it is used sparingly it can actually create a very dry and crumbly topsoil. It just depends on how you use it, how much you use it, and at what state of decomposition you are using it.
For dealing with mud issues, I would not really suggest using already soiled bedding, and really not too many woodchips. I just like to lay down a layer of woodchips on top of other things because it gives a "Clean" layer that helps to keep the mud down. |
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Barnyard Buddies: how do you deal with MUD around livestock in winte |
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how do you deal with MUD around livestock in winte
