Pen re-evaluation

[kuskus]

I have a ground pen its 8' x 8' I like it because it's a natural look the way I have it set up but it's not the most sanitary and it's very heavy and I can't move it without a lot of work and I don't like the idea of just raising them on wire I'm afraid of hurting their feet animals reaching up there and grabbing their feet at night I like a natural look does anyone have any suggestions about flooring in a pen on top of screen that makes for an easy cleanup maybe like cardboard and some Pineneedles on top so that it's easy to remove I don't know

 

[JaeG]

Wood shavings or straw are commonly used. Sand is another option. I like straw because less ends up in their waterer and they like to hide in it! Also, you can rake it out easily in a large enclosure. But shavings are more absorbant.

 

[Binki]

You could consider doing a soil trade for cleanup? That's what we do in our chicken run, it's full of dirt and some hay and the busy spot is 6x6.

Whenever it gets too dirty, we dig up the first couple of inches of soil and put it in the garden and replace it with new dirt - surprisingly for five chickens (used to have six) we've only had to do it four times in two years - usually spring and fall and keep extra hay there in the winter to keep them off the cold ground and hide food in they hay to keep them busy as they can't free range in the snow for months

Honestly I'm surprised it's not more dirty or smelly - if the dirt gets wet and smells bad we know we need to change it, that's how we've been doing it and they're all healthy and have been laying since January 2016 and haven't stopped hardly a day in over a year

And we don't supplement light. Got a bit off topic here, haha!!

 

[Binki]

Oh I forgot to mention an idea of a raised bed to protect from predators/elements, posted this earlier today,


I am toying with an idea that fixes the possible digging from predator problem while still allowing the quail group to forage somewhat/be in nature/be protected from any elements.

It would be a raised garden bed with a box (the cage) on top of it. When it needs to be cleaned, I can move the box to another raised garden bed and turn the poopy soil/replace it if needed/add seeds to sprout by the time I switch them back over to that bed again smile.png

 

[purslanegarden]

I use straw in my coop. The birds find spots that they like to do their dust bathing, but otherwise, the entire floor has straw. At first I was cleaning it out every 3 months but now I've moved to every 6 months without any detrimental effects to the birds. The old straw is then tossed onto the compost pile where it cooks for another 6-12 months, so straw+poop is a valued treasure here and I'm glad the birds can contribute.

 

[Dani xxx]

I have my quail on bark clippings in the run area and straw in the house. I was worried about soil parasites so I covered the soil with ground sheet the put bark clippings on top I turn it over once a week and change the straw once a week too no problems so far I tried a few other bedding materials in the house but had problems with poop sticking to their feet tried shredded paper which stuck really bad and wood shavings which were fine but the straw was a lot cheaper for more and is special poultry straw so pre treated with anti fungal, anti viral etc ! X