Dirt floor vs wood shavings for coop

[aart]

Yes @snow5164 , I said your poop boards were key...I assume you sift the poops out of them frequently?

Daycare sandboxes haven't ever seen chicken poop.

Sand is not digestive grit, it's not large enough.

 

[snow5164]

Actually construction sand is large enough to be grit... yes I scoop poop everyday .

My point about the daycare sand is that sand can be cleaned. We all have an opinion and we won't agree what's best .



Edited by Staff

 

[aart]

Actually construction sand is large enough to be grit... yes I scoop poop everyday .

My point about the daycare sand is that sand can be cleaned. We all have an opinion and we won't agree what's best .

I seriously doubt that a sand box at a daycare has chicken poop in it.
You might be able to kill most germs in the pulverized poop saturated sand,
the remaining detritus may well still stink when wet.
This can take many months to a couple years to develop, but develop it will.

Grit sizes:
http://www.jupefeeds-sa.com/documents/GraniteGrit.pdf



Edited by Staff

 

[TwoCrows]

Please, lets all share ideas here and not argue or try to prove who is right and who is wrong. We all do things differently, so respect everyone's opinion please.

Thank you for your cooperation.

-BYC Staff

 

[Shamo123]

It could work on concrete, if you have a good mix of materials(most importantly including some 'starter' compost full of organism activity) and moisture.
Can depend on climate too....putting your location in your profile might help folks give better answers/suggestions.
Posting a pic of your coop and details on your flock(numbers, age, genders) might shed some light.

Exactly....eventually the sand becomes saturated with pulverized poop and can be very stinky if it gets damp/wet.

Poop boards are key here.....as a lot of the poop is removed often. 
I sift my poop boards every day or two and poop is composted offsite.

I added my location on my profile so hopefully that helps. I'm going to see if i can find an active compost heap that i can take a bit out of.

I haven't turned over the shavings in a few days now and surprisingly there isn't a strong ammonia smell right now, whether that's a coincidence or not I'm not sure.


So is it pointless trying out the dirt only method? It works extremely well in the run but that is larger and more open than the coop. Just wondering really if anyone has used dirt in the coop as the only media with success?

 

[ECarter1217]

We use wood shavings (pine flakes) in our coop and never have had an ammonia odor problem. We do have a poop board filled with PDZ under the roost that gets sifted out everyday or so. The shavings get changed out twice a year.

How deep are the shavings? Good ventilations? Is the water kept outside? Wet shavings stink. Number of chickens/size of coop?

what is PDZ??

 

[Shamo123]

Location location location!  Lol...  Specifics are helpful!  Concrete can be great... if you decide to go with  deep bedding / litter, and your worried about rot you can always line the perimeter with concrete board or sheet metal or concrete block...    I painted my studs in my mobile coop with an industrial enamel (work's great!)  You also might have to make the door swing out, instead of inside...  So many options!

Also, I would definitely not feel bad!  It is so beneficial to ask questions!I guarantee others have similar questions, and we all get to learn together!  

I have my coop walls lined with a bunch of scrap wooden boards that measure over 2ft high so should have no problem with the walls of the actual coop rotting but the entrance to the coop is already about 8 inches or so higher than the ground so adding a 12 inch high board will make getting in and out a little difficult so will have to just add less media towards the entrance of the coop. The door already swings out so that's not an issue

 

[Shamo123]

Yes, I have removed wet sand the won't dry , I just scoop it into the run, threw the door with a shovel ... easy!!

Most adult chickens don't poop lots inside, mine go at night on the roost over the poop board or outside, I do scoop a few in the coop with the litter scoop .... also as they do in daycare sandboxes sand CAN be sanitized with vircon or freshened up with vinegar.

Any topic here has many sides, some love deep litter some love shavings and some sand. You might have to try a few to see what you like. I started with deep litter, not for me you can say I did it wrong , It was not clean enough for me or my shoes

....

Yeah i think I'm going to have to try the different methods and see which one works best for me

 

[Shamo123]

what is PDZ??

I think ChickenMammX4 is referring to this http://www.sweetpdz.com

I've heard a lot of good things about it but unfortunately can't find any where i live (UK)

 

[ECarter1217]

I think ChickenMammX4 is referring to this http://www.sweetpdz.com

I've heard a lot of good things about it but unfortunately can't find any where i live (UK)

ok thank you so much im still learning a lot i only wish my two chickens were not so terrified of me they spook and run if i open the coop