Chickens and French drains

[RBailey]

We have got a few "semi-french" drains in our back garden. They generally border the paving slabs and the edges have then been filled with loose gravel.
However, these seem to provide a prime source of amusement for our chickens.


(This is the biggest which I have already dug out to 10 inches deep but have a good few other smaller ones that need the thin layer of gravel c.15mm removing out, the earth digging our and a decent depth of gravel adding.)

A couple of ideas so far;

1 - Just under the surface lay a layer of "chicken mesh" and then 15 mm layer of gravel on top.
This will give good breath-ability but the chickens will be still able to dig out the top stones.

2 - Resin bound gravel
This seems like it offers a permeable surface, not as good as loose gravel but could be okay.
Does anybody have any experience / comments.

3 - Breadcrumbs and a deep fat fryer
:twisted:

Apart from a turning them into McNuggets any ideas to control the gravel migration and keep breath-ability.

Thanks,

Richard B.

 

[Pennyviz]

Not sure about the breathability of resin - are you sure it's breathable? How about some flags laid over gravel, against wall at an angle?

 

[Flyfisher]

Personally, I'm not overly convinced about gravel against a wall being a good solution against damp. We have plenty of gravel but it always seems to be damp under the surface. Yes, it may be breathable but it's also very good at retaining moisture.

As for the chicken problem, I'm assuming that fencing them off from the house is not an option, in which case could the gravel be replaced with some sort of grating? This would have the advantage of not trapping moisture and allowing better circulation of air against the wall, though it would certainly be a more expensive option than gravel.

I recall that our stripey member (Zebra) did something similar to solve a damp problem caused by high external ground, though there were no chickens involved.
Read all about it here: http://periodproperty.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14035

Also some more photos here: http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14273&start=15

 

[Surveyorman]

This is indeed an interesting one! I think the resin bound gravel is a bad idea as this will affect the percolation of water through the gravel. Providing you have dug the channel out to the correct specification eg. 150mm below the level of the DPC then you shouldn’t have too many issues with regards to moisture collecting at the bottom of the channel and even if it does, providing it is well below the DPC then this shouldn’t really cause too much of a problem. Having said that, French drains should ideally lead somewhere eg. A suitable discharge point but this isn’t always possible.

Back to the chicken issue - you can lay larger stones, the sort you might buy from a garden centre across the top of the gravel but these must not go higher than the damp proof course. The reason that pea shingle is used in French drains is because when layered in a trench, it is not a dense material therefore rainwater is less likely to “splash back” over the DPC upon impact. Keep this in mind when choosing what you might cover the stones with.

I have recently done a post about French Drains on my blog. Here’s the link http://owsurveyors.co.uk/french-drains/

 

[RBailey]

... below the the level of the DPC

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: whats a DPC !

Back to the chicken issue - you can lay larger stones, the sort you might buy from a garden centre across the top of the gravel but these must not go higher than the damp proof course.

That might be a good idea, I think I will have an experiment to see what the McNuggets can move.

 

[Surveyorman]

How old is the house, RBailey?

 

[RBailey]

How old is the house, RBailey?

350-400 years, Rutland Iron stone direct onto the ground.

 

[Surveyorman]

Then you can disregard my mention of a DPC which I think you had already :lol:

 

[Zebra]

Perhaps you need an alternative source of amusement for your chickens.
I'm not sure if you actually have a damp problem, or just a chicken problem.....

 

[ElectronicFur]

When I needed to stop my chickens digging up some newly seeded grass I just laid down some plastic wire mesh, held down by tent pegs. Might work on your gravel.

 

[RBailey]

Fingers crossed this will work, seems like it will.

Bonus points as SWMBO likes them

 

[Surveyorman]

That looks aesthetically pleasing and your chickens will need some strong necks and beaks to displace those surely?! Thanks for posting the finishes article.

 

[Zebra]

When I needed to stop my chickens digging up some newly seeded grass I just laid down some plastic wire mesh, held down by tent pegs.

With the chickens beneath it?

 

[RBailey]

With the chickens beneath it?

Nearly :lol:

 

[ElectronicFur]

:lol: Chicken curry might be a tastier option then.