I’ve got 3 chicks, 7 weeks old. They are fully feathered and have been in the outdoor coop for a month (with heat). They spend most of their day outside, but the heated coop is there if they need it and is warm at night. I’m in NE Ohio, low 40’s during the day, mid 30’s at night. How do I wean...
I was hoping for some answers too, I have the very same problem. I'm in ohio, not very hot summer, so I know it's not the heat. They're a little over 2 yrs old (I have 3 hens) and I'm getting about 8 eggs/week. Am I expecting too much?? They're red sex links, so they are supposed to be pretty...
I had rock and got rid of it. You can't clean rock. The poop gets stuck between the rocks and you can't pick it up. If you try to hose it, the whole area stays wet and smells. I replaced all of my rock with sand and love, love , love it
Check out some of the many informative threads about putting sand in your run. I love sand...it drains well, doesn't smell, looks great and is easy to clean.
I put 4-5 inches of sand down right on top of the existing dirt in my uncovered run. They don't often dig down beyond 5", although every once in awhile it looks like somebody is trying to tunnel out :) You just need to be sure your sand is deep enough. I love, love, love the sand!
We have the Chicken Saloon, and for us it works great. I know there have been a lot of complaints about them (and pre made coops in general), but we were prepared to do a lot of "upgrading" when we went with pre made. First, there's no way you could put in more than 3, it's just too small for...
We're trying to fly 'under the radar' here, as outlaw chicken keepers, so a roof on the run was a little too much. We opted for an open run, but put in a couple of Little Tykes houses, with perches inside. In the winter, we put a tarp on the bottom and about 8" of straw in them. They...
This works for us! We have only 3 chickens. The fence is 4', clipped 1 wing on each bird, so we haven't had any problems with flying over. There is wire stapled to the bottom on the wood fence that comes outside the pen to prevent diggers. Part of the pen is sand (which I love) and the other...
I use sand in my uncovered outdoor run AND in the "play" area of my coop. In the roosting area, there is a tray w/Sweet PDZ for scooping. I love the sand. The stuff inside stays nice and dry, they bathe in it all year. The outside sand drains well and doesn't smell. I rake it once in...
Here's a great link to grazing frames: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/627048/grazing-frame-plans-to-protect-grass-for-chickens
I have a couple and love them! I recently saw a nice modification where the sides were 2x4's and the top was it's own frame made w/ 1x2's, hardware cloth added...
Lots of info here on using sand. I love my sand....In the summer, I (sometimes) use a little kitty litter scoop to make it look pretty, but not so much during the rain and snow seasons. We had a few inches of rain here over the weekend and my sand drained beautifully. I have about 4-6" of...
I have play sand in my coop. I don't remember why...I must have had it around. In the run, I use sand that is more coarse: construction sand, tube sand, or all -purpose sand. (those might all be the same;) My experience has been that the coarser sand drains better. The play sand (at least...
Our run is uncovered, so the rain etc helps to decompose a lot of the poop--it just washes away. Since you're on concrete, you have a different issue. I don't use DE for odor. For stink, you want to use Sweet PDZ. There are many threads here on BYC regarding it's safety and effectiveness. I...
I used 4-6" of sand but did NOT dig out any dirt. Use 2x4s to make an "edge" if you need to, then put the sand down right on top of the dirt. Sand is great! I'm here in NE Ohio, it's been raining for 3 days now. The run doesn't even have puddles--If you dig out the dirt, you're going to...
More info about your situation would be help, like...how many chickens do you want? what is your climate? how much land do you have? what is your predator situation? I have had both and much prefer the coop and large run. We only have 3 girls but even with just a few: the tractor was a pain to...
check out the many threads here on 'sand' in the run. It drains well, doesn't smell , cleans easily (if you want to clean it ;) and is cheap! I love, love, love my sand run.