Barn/Coop question

[NewToFarming]

Hi,
I am very new to chickens and I am still trying to figure out where to start with the chickens I inherited on my new property. They have a current set up in the barn & they free range. There is a smaller room in the barn where they had the nests, water & the feeder in there. The floor is a dirt floor, nothing down on it. The only ventilation I noticed is if you would leave the door open to the room & then they get out through the barn. There is a window in the room that appeared to be open at one time open & a sectioned fenced off from that on the outside but that window is now closed over. It is in definite need of a good cleaning but should I also be putting bedding down on the floor in the room where the nesting & feeder is kept? It is kind of like a muddy mess in there. From what I can tell, I only have 3 roosters no hens at the moment. Should they have additional ventilation other than the open door to the room? Any other advice will be appreciated.

Thanks!
Lisa

 

[ChickenToes]

Give them as much ventilation as possible. Check out BYCer patandchickens ventilation page for a lot of good advice, here's the link.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

I would put some wood shavings down as bedding. If you use the deep litter method, you'll only have to clean it out once or twice a year. Here's another link explaining the deep litter method.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1560-DLM


Good luck!

 

[NewToFarming]

Great! Thank you! I really like the sound of the deep litter method!!!