Question for the board... turns out we put our coop over the leach field and was wondering if this a problem or not. It's a small to medium coop and i skirted it with leftover retaining wall blocks (hollow like cinder blocks), stacked with no foundation or mortar. No chickens yet. Thoughts? Thanks.

E. coli ?

Why do you think there would be an issue?

Get you some birds in there so you can have eggs by spring!

It's only a problem if you need to redo those lines. Otherwise....don't see that it matters one way or another.

schmellba99 said:

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Why do you think there would be an issue?

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Thanks. The primary concern is the weight of the setup over the pipes and also it's my understanding that the field needs sunlight for proper biochemistry processes(?) to occur. I'm definitely talking over my head so I thought I'd ask the most knowledgeable folks I know!

One day your drain fiend will collapse or backup. They always do. When it does, you may have to move it to replace tiles and/or stop your chickens from eating chit water.

Right now I'd be more worried about coons getting their Grubby paws through your fence. I lost several chicken heads before I wrapped mine in wire mesh (rabbit wire). You can buy it in 4ft wide rolls on amazon and use the metal zip ties to secure it

You have pros and cons....

Pros: The grass will be naturally irrigated by the leach field. Having grass for the chickens to eat besides grain will help with overall gut health and help produce those nice rich brown eggs everyone likes. If you have the ability to plant something like rye grass in the pen that can be deep rooted, it will be a good water user to prevent the pen from holding any excess water in the soil (ie avoid muddy conditions)

Cons: As already said, its not a problem until there is a problem with the septic system, in which case you will/may need to move everything so repairs can be done. The best thing is to get in a routine of adding microbes to the septic system regularly to help prevent clogging and back ups.

boulderaggie said:

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schmellba99 said:

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Why do you think there would be an issue?

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Thanks. The primary concern is the weight of the setup over the pipes and also it's my understanding that the field needs sunlight for proper biochemistry processes(?) to occur. I'm definitely talking over my head so I thought I'd ask the most knowledgeable folks I know!

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There is almost no weight there to be concerned about. Hell, the soil cover over the pipes is significantly heavier than the little bit of weight shown in the picture. Also, remember that the overall weight of those blocks is spread out over the contact surface area so the actual soil pressure is negligible.

The biochemistry processes - I.E. waste breakdown - happens in the tanks. The leach field is there to have a place for the residual water to go, and anything that is left in that water will either break down through the microbes int he soil or be used by the grass above as nutrients.

Is this a gravity fed system? If so, the field lines are buried deep enough that you should be fine. If this is a low-dose system, those field lines are very shallow and the vegetation loss you are going to have with those chickens is likely going to turn this into a muddy mess. Low dose systems have the 2nd effluent tank with a pump to the lines, BTW.

Great feedback everyone - much appreciated. I do believe we have a low dose system, fwiw.

Installer here. If it isn't too much work, I would definitely move it. Chickens scratch for forage, and as said previously, it's going to be a muddy mess. Plus, for a low dose system, there will be e coli still in the effluent, and I really don't think you want your family eating eggs that could be tainted. Always better if you can keep your leach fields in the clear.

Serious question, why would it be a muddy mess? My leach fields are dry as a bone on top and any I've seen over my life that were muddy had some kind of underlying issue that had to be fixed. Is muddy leach field normal?

As for chickens scratching and E. coli that might be a thing but I don't know. My chickens **** where they eat, eat grain out of horse ****, and will scratch a 2 day old cow turd open to eat bugs that have taken up residence. They aren't exactly clean creatures. Is E. coli a legit concern on a leach field on the surface?

You probably have a normal leach field, and yes it should be dry on top. He indicated he has a low dose leach system, which is a small pipe with holes that is installed relatively shallow to take advantage of the normally more porous top soil, and is delivered under low pressure from a pump in the last tank. And yes, I realize chickens aren't clean critters, but would you really want them messing around in your effluent?

Good info. I didn't know that. No, probably not great in this situation. Maybe akin to putting your garden in the aerobic system sprayers….hmmmm

Sorta… but not the same.

Yeah, that's not something I would recommend either. Your aerobic effluent is supposed to be disinfected by chlorine tablets, but the chlorine level might be pretty high, and that's not going to help your garden. And if you don't keep up with the disinfection........... You have it exactly right Jason