Straw over cement slab in backyard?

[SJensen]

Hi,

This is my first winter with chickens and I'm trying to figure out how to manage their free-range area. They're out in the backyard all day, but tend to hang around on the 12' x 12' cement slab by their coop (right by our stairs). The poop all over the cement is driving me crazy, so I'm thinking about putting out bales of straw in a square around the cement and then filling it in with straw. We're in in Vancouver, BC, so it is quite rainy, but the cement area does have a drain. I'm thinking that the straw would look more cheerful than just cement with poop all over it.

I am wondering how long the straw will hold up, and if anyone has tried anything similar.

 

[Imp]

I am in the Seattle area. I used 10 straw bales for a compost bin. They lasted about 3 years before the chickens tore them apart, but they really paid no attention to the straw until it started getting soft and falling apart. I found it to be a mess to clean up, so no more straw for me.

Imp

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

am wondering how long the straw will hold up, and if anyone has tried anything similar

When it gets wet it will turn into a slimy, smelly mess.​

 

[GardeNerd]

I have not tried covering my patio to keep the poop off, but I agree that they can really make it a mess.

Instead of covering the patio, I keep the chickens off most of the time. I have four fold-up pet exercise pen panels. I connect them together and I fence off the patio when I let the chickens forage in the yard. Since the chickens have so much other space in the yard, and two of my hens are heavy breeds, they don't hop over and thus stay off the patio.

 

[4estgump]

Go to your local store that sells cheep tarps. Cover the slab. Stake it down. Green if possible. Looks more like grass.
This way you can spray it off, or change it once a season. Might help.
4est