Andrew from Toronto

Hi All,

My name is Andrew. I am a student at Upper Canada College in Toronto and I am working on legalizing hens in the city of Toronto, with the group name, "Toronto Chickens".

I currently have 4 chickens, and have a couple questions about them (I have had them for about 3 months).

In the hen house (totally secured part of the coop, where they sleep and lay), do I need to put down horse bedding, or any bedding? Right now, I am putting down bedding and when they poo in the bedding, I clean everything up. This takes a long time, and it a hastle. So I was wondering, if it was even necessary to have bedding. If I do not use the bedding, then the chickens would be walking/sleeping/laying on plywood. Or should I only put bedding in their nesting boxes... What would you do? What do you recommend?

Also I have a run attached to my coop. In the run, the bottom is just dirt (because they ate all the grass)! Currently I do not put bedding in the run. Should I? When I go to clean out the run, it is hard to tell what is poo and what is dirt. So I end up taking a lot out. Could I put a piece of plywood down on top of the dirt, so when they poo, it is easy to just pick it up. Or should I use gravel/sand or something to put ontop. Please help me! It is hard to clean so much every week. What do you do in your chicken run, to keep it clean?

I do not know how many people respond on these things (first time using one), but I appreciate all help.

In addition, here is my email address if you would like to contact me personally: [email protected]

Thanks,

Andrew

 

Wow, Thanks for responding so fast. I will try it out. I will also see what happens if I do not clean so frequently.

Andrew