Bedding/Litter in Open Air Coop

[ChickensForEggs2500]

Hello! I have an 90sqft open air coop (2/3's HW cloth) for my 11 chickens. I will be adding 4 ducks this spring. They have a 450sqft run. I plan on making a poop board under the roosts to cut down on excess soiled bedding. Right now, they have a dirt floor that I periodically add compost to in the coop. To prevent rodents from digging in, we will pour concrete in the coop. This will always have bedding/litter on it. They will pretty much only sleep and lay eggs inside, with access to the run all day.

What is the best bedding/litter for an open air coop? I don't want to put up permanent walls, because the moisture in the air goes away completely in the summer. I would prefer to use a system like deep bedding/litter to use less bedding, but is this possible in a coop where minimal rain blows in? The great thing about my coop is, it has great ventilation and the humidity is never above that of the outdoors!

Thank you so much for your input and advice!

 

[3KillerBs]

Can you get a truckload of wood chips from a tree trimmer?

That's my plan for my 250 square foot open-air coop.

 

[ChickensForEggs2500]

Thank you! We plan on putting wood chips in the run for sure. I'll look into woodchips for the coop as well!

 

[aart]

Pics of coop would help here.

 

[ChickensForEggs2500]

I edited the op. The plans were for a small run and coop (5x12 total sqft) but we have many more chickens than would fit! (11) They prefer to roost on the outside (the 'run' area of the open air coop). These aren't the greatest pics, I'll try to get more today.

 

[ChickensForEggs2500]

Here is the interior of the open air part. You can see daisy in her hut. behind the 'back wall' in the henhouse are the nesting boxes. The floor is dirt combined with the henhouse's spent shavings. I also laid a plastic pallet on the floor when we were having muck issues, but that isn't really needed anymore.

All of the ceilings are corrugated plastic panels with hw cloth underneath. plenty of ventilation all around.

Here is the extension duck house we're working on.

Here is my attempt to take a panoramic pic of the full coop. It's 18ft long. Behind this is their day run which is 450sqft. Sorry for the mess haha. The full housed in part is 6x5, and the rest is 12x5. each of the panels are 3ft long.

I hope this helps!!

 

[3KillerBs]

I like all the perches and levels.

 

[ChickensForEggs2500]

I like all the perches and levels.

Thank you! The chickens do too.

 

[McChooky]

Hello! I have an 90sqft open air coop (2/3's HW cloth) for my 11 chickens. I will be adding 4 ducks this spring. They have a 450sqft run. I plan on making a poop board under the roosts to cut down on excess soiled bedding. Right now, they have a dirt floor that I periodically add compost to in the coop. To prevent rodents from digging in, we will pour concrete in the coop. This will always have bedding/litter on it. They will pretty much only sleep and lay eggs inside, with access to the run all day.

What is the best bedding/litter for an open air coop? I don't want to put up permanent walls, because the moisture in the air goes away completely in the summer. I would prefer to use a system like deep bedding/litter to use less bedding, but is this possible in a coop where minimal rain blows in? The great thing about my coop is, it has great ventilation and the humidity is never above that of the outdoors!

So long as you keep the chickens up high you shouldn't have to worry about the ducks getting the chickens drinking water dirty or spilling their water .Be prepared to go thru a lot of bedding using the deep litter method with a mix of ducks and chickens in a coop. Ducks need 1/2 gallon water of drinking water each per day and must be able to dunk their faces in water to wash their face and sinuses. They need water to digest their food when they eat too which adds more moisture to the coop. These are just a few things I wanted to touch upon as ducks dramatically change the moisture level in a coop.If you only get hen ducks you shouldn't have a big problem with drakes in a flock but you don't have enough female ducks the drake will fight your rooster over the hens.Drakes have been known to drag a rooster to water and will try to drown them. Best wishes!