Bedding and flooring in coop

[Kaesi2020]

Hi everyone! Our seven week old chicks spent their first night in the coop last night- it was a successful one with no issues! Having surveyed the morning after in the coop, I notice some design flaws we can improve on. Right now we have thick rubber mats as a flooring for the coop. On top we put a layer of pine shavings. My questions are...

There is already a lot of poop on the ladder going to the roost bar. Is there a material to line this with that works best for cleanup? Right now it's just covered in the rubber mat for grip for their feet. Or, ideas for efficient cleanup of the ladder area?

-if we want to do the deep litter method, we would continue to add fresh layers of pine shavings, correct? Do you do that daily, weekly? Should I atleast remove the bigger poops daily?

Thank you!

 

[DobieLover]

Hi everyone! Our seven week old chicks spent their first night in the coop last night- it was a successful one with no issues! Having surveyed the morning after in the coop, I notice some design flaws we can improve on. Right now we have thick rubber mats as a flooring for the coop. On top we put a layer of pine shavings. My questions are...

There is already a lot of poop on the ladder going to the roost bar. Is there a material to line this with that works best for cleanup? Right now it's just covered in the rubber mat for grip for their feet. Or, ideas for efficient cleanup of the ladder area?

-if we want to do the deep litter method, we would continue to add fresh layers of pine shavings, correct? Do you do that daily, weekly? Should I atleast remove the bigger poops daily?

Thank you!

Can you post some pictures of your setup?
Do you have a ladder to the roosts or is it a ramp with cleats? They don't hang out on the ramp. They may sleep on a ladder.
DLM is difficult to kick off on a non-earth floor as it needs some moisture and lots of the right bacteria to begin the composting process.
The problem with rubber mats on the floor is that it will become a slimy mess underneath them. Everything needs to have fresh air getting to it to dry out.
What is the floor of your coop made from?

 

[DobieLover]

Hi! Thanks for the reply. We have an elevated coop so the floor is made of wood. Would you suggest linoleum instead of the rubber mats? Or can we keep the rubber mats and add some fresh pine shavings each day?

I wouldn't do rubber mats. Moisture will get under them and it will begin to stink very bad pretty quickly.
I have a plywood floor coop as well. Some people like to apply Blackjack to the floor or linoleum as you've mentioned. All I did was put two coats of Behr Porch and Floor paint down and I've had no problems.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Hi all, thanks for your replies. Here are some pictures. Some details: elevated coop, floor is plywood, then covered in thick rubber mats, then pine shavings as bedding. Considering changing out mats for linoleum but not sure yet. This space is for six hens. They have daytime access to enclosed run and free range with supervision during the day. At night we lock them in this coop.

I'd consider axing the ramps entirely. The roosts aren't that high, so unless you have very heavy breeds that struggle to get up there, they really shouldn't need ramps.

And you won't be doing anything close to deep litter in that set up - the moisture alone would cause issues, especially with the rubber mats. If you do daily spot cleaning you can probably extend need for clean out to a once every 2 months? Once every 3 months? Really depends on how well you can keep it dry inside, and keep on top of poop each day. Have to kind of play it by ear (or nose... if you can smell it, it needed to be cleaned yesterday).

 

[Kaesi2020]

Can you post some pictures of your setup?
Do you have a ladder to the roosts or is it a ramp with cleats? They don't hang out on the ramp. They may sleep on a ladder.
DLM is difficult to kick off on a non-earth floor as it needs some moisture and lots of the right bacteria to begin the composting process.
The problem with rubber mats on the floor is that it will become a slimy mess underneath them. Everything needs to have fresh air getting to it to dry out.
What is the floor of your coop made from?

Hi! Thanks for the reply. We have an elevated coop so the floor is made of wood. Would you suggest linoleum instead of the rubber mats? Or can we keep the rubber mats and add some fresh pine shavings each day?

 

[aart]

Can you post some pictures of your setup?

Yes, pics please.

Oh, and....Welcome to BYC! @Kaesi2020
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[rosemarythyme]

Definitely need to see photos. Sounds like they're either roosting on the ladder or it's placed in such a way that they can poop on it from roost?

You're probably not going to be able to do deep litter with that set up, so deep bedding is the closest you'd get. But we'd need to see the coop or get more details as far as size, number of birds, etc., to think of how to best manage the litter.

 

[Cryss]

I went with Blackjack 57 on my wood floor and up the walls about a foot. Btw Blackjack has several different formulas. The “57” is a safe formula. It’s biggest drawback is that it takes about 10 days to dry and should be applied during a dry spell. If you ever build another coop I highly recommend it. My floor is waterproof.

 

[Kaesi2020]

Hi all, thanks for your replies. Here are some pictures. Some details: elevated coop, floor is plywood, then covered in thick rubber mats, then pine shavings as bedding. Considering changing out mats for linoleum but not sure yet. This space is for six hens. They have daytime access to enclosed run and free range with supervision during the day. At night we lock them in this coop.

 

[aart]

I'd consider axing the ramps entirely. The roosts aren't that high, so unless you have very heavy breeds that struggle to get up there, they really shouldn't need ramps.

Yes, they are too steep anyway.

Wonders about the ramp up the the 'floor door'?
Need a 4-6" board all around the 'floor door' or most the bedding will end up down below.