how do you deal with MUD in the winter???

[Suzy]

How in the world do you deal with mud in the winter? This is about my seventh or eighth year to have livestock and chickens but this is the first winter that so much MUD has just overtaken everything!

For the front goat shed, about three hears ago I put down 20 cap blocks and made a kind of "front patio" so that the entrance to their shed is not muddy....I really need to do that to the back goat shed (and when it's muddy is a great time to do that because you can get them stuck in the ground just right!) BUT....

at all three entrances to the chicken house it is AWFUL.

I slid down in the mud about three days ago and just kept sliding until I was flat on my back!

It looks awful as well and can't be good for the animals....

If I put down sawdust it just all turns to mud AND sawdust....

It is sunny today YEA YEA YEA!!! but we're supposed to have major thunderstorms again my Friday.

what do you do on YOUR homestead????

[GREEN_ALIEN]

5/8 inch minus crushed rock everywhere a machine, vehicle or person travels. My driveway / parking is pretty much arranged in a large square. All entrances to the various buildings such as shop, chicken coop, turkey coop are off of this as well as all of the winter feed pens for the cattle and pigs. About the only mud I have to drive in is from the cow gate to the bale feeder and that is more what I call SHMUD.

Ted

[Suzy]

where do I get crushed rock??? is it the same as gravel? how much does it cost?

[billy_goat_gruff]

Pretty much the same here in the States. I think in some places in the world gravel refers to rounded rock while crushed rock can have more angles on it.

Know anyone that deals with roads down there? Road work contractors or DOT folks should be able to tell you where as it is used as a sub-base for roads in some designs.

[Suzy]

well, since I am currently unemployed, any kind of crushed rock right now is out of the question....BUT...

I went to the local carpet dealer yesterday and his two dumpsters were filled with great carpet pieces! Of course I asked first and then we got a big roll of indoor outdoor carpet that was about two and a half feet to three feet wide...

So this morning I put it down in the more well-traveled areas such as around the big garbage cans that hold the feed, inside the gates going into the chicken enclosure and across the area of the chicken house that currently has no roof....

I wished I had another roll of that...it works great!!!! may go back in a day or two and see what else I can find there! this width would have been great to put between rows in the garden too so I may be on the lookout for some for that too!

He had a HUGe piece of PINK carpet that looked as good as new but it was doubled over in the dumpster and husband even tried to get it out and we couldn't..but this worked out so much better!

I can't believe husband actually went by there with me! he usually takes no interest at all in the animals or homestead.