do you HAVE to use litter?

[handymanjimbo]

in my raised hen house, in roosting area i put 1/2 x 1/2 wire as the floor to make it easier to clean...most poo falls thru, it ALL falls thru when i run a soft rake across it...then i shovel what is underneath and compost it. should i use a litter on top of the wire too?? i could do that easily too as i have designed a 3" slot that runs the length of roost to dispose of any litter...which then fall to the ground. underneath....the "underneath" area is enclosed with a removable panel for cleaning and summer ventilation. i built this 4 months ago and have seen no problems yet...am figuring during the winter i may need litter... and i am wondering if they would be more comfortable with litter...they are only in hen house over nite as they have a large run...any suggestions???

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

I hate my coop! It is just an old garden shed with boxes and perches in it. It is so hard to clean!

I do free range my chickens so they don't have to be stuck in there. I use litter sometimes and sometimes I don't. It is a wood floor and hard to clean anyways and litter just makes it worse. If we are going to be gone for long and I can't free range I put in litter so they have something to do. I also put it in in the winter to keep them warm, because they usually stay in the chicken house. Or when it is really, really cold and we move the goats in there.

Your set-up sounds great, and if it works then I wouldn't change it. I might put some straw or prairie hay in there in the winter. Sounds like you are fine as you are though. Just so you know, I am sooooooo jealous! I wish I had a coop like yours!

 

[handymanjimbo]

thank you...ms bagawk...lol..actually what i have is an 8' x 16' building i built, with each 4'x4' corner being a separate henhouse which leaves a nice 8'x8' area in the center to keep supplies, tools and feed and to gain access to doors to access each henhouse for eggs and cleaning, as well as gaining access to the runs....its pretty cool...each hen house has a large 30x30 run....the only worry i have had is the litter...but i think you are right...what i have seems ok, just may have to use some litter during the winter. also...i was thinking maybe i could leave the composting material (poo, straw wood chips etc) in the enclosed area underneath during the winter for additional heat...just trying to make sure i wont have any TRAGEDIES during the winter.

 

[bywaterdog]

The weather and breed of your chickens will dictate the need for litter.
I have a raised coop in U.S.D.A. Zone 9 and do not have any problems with the weather. My coop is raised about 4' off of the ground and has 1/4 " hardware cloth as a floor, all I do is hose it out once per week and everything is fine.

I use shredded paper as a nesting material and change it out right before I clean the floor ( scatter the paper under the coop- chickens can't get to the area.) The droppings and shredded paper compost very quickly for my garden needs.

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

I would think that would be fine.

That sounds like an awesome set-up handymanjimbo. I wanted to get a lot of run space so that I wouldn't have to free range (and our yard could be free of the "things" that come with it) but that didn't work out. I really want a house that is insulated with strawbales (One of my friends has a house done this way) and plaster on insides and outside. Maybe if my parents hadn't opened a restaurant we would actually have some time to do this!!!! Oh well, I've been mounting perches today. I do what I can...*sigh*