Bedding? Yes? No?

[GEHIAE]

Hi there!

I am in the process of building a pen for my future girls. It is almost done but it has just dawned on me that I might need litter/bedding in the house bit.
I've built a chook house where they will roost and nest and then attached is a dirt/grass run. The house bit is on a concrete slab. Will I need bedding of some sort in there? Or will it be fine on its own?
Welcome to all ideas!
I'm from down under so it doesn't get too cold.

Thank you so much!

 

[black_cat]

You will definitely need bedding. I'd recommend pine shavings myself, but other options are sand and the deep litter method.

 

[GEHIAE]

You will definitely need bedding. I'd recommend pine shavings myself, but other options are sand and the deep litter method.

There are small gaps near the edges...suggestions on how to keep it in the house without the chickens scratching it out?

 

[black_cat]

There are small gaps near the edges...suggestions on how to keep it in the house without the chickens scratching it out?

What do you mean by 'gaps'? A good way to have the chickens not scratch it out would be to have the door to the run not level with the floor, so that there's a threshold to keep it in.

 

[GEHIAE]

What do you mean by 'gaps'? A good way to have the chickens not scratch it out would be to have the door to the run not level with the floor, so that there's a threshold to keep it in.

The wood doesn't quite sit flush to the slab all the way round

 

[Alaskan]

The wood doesn't quite sit flush to the slab all the way round

You might want to tack down hardware cloth, skirt like, all of the way around to keep out predators.

Rats, snakes, weasels..... depending on what lives where you are at...

But then a threshold at the door to keep in bedding.

 

[black_cat]

The wood doesn't quite sit flush to the slab all the way round

I'm not an expert builder at all but I think that there are some fillers that you can buy. Little bits getting out here and there is fine, as long as it's not a drastic amount.

 

[Tre3hugger]

The wood doesn't quite sit flush to the slab all the way round

https://www.ebarnett.com/Sku/441002...se&gclid=CKj50t6xt-oCFcGyswodi7QNdQ&gclsrc=ds

 

[middle TN Nancy]

I filled some gaps at my coop and run roofline where it was impossible to close off at the corrugations of the tin roof. I used Great Stuff expanding foam, in a black color so it wouldn't show up (it's usually pale yellow). I was concerned about mice and snakes because the gaps were 3/4"-1". I don't know if you can use it where the chickens could potentially peck at it - they can't reach it where I put it. It's a little tricky to work with because it continues to expand for several minutes until it cures. Where it ballooned out significantly, I was easily able to cut it off flush with a serrated knife. But definitely no more gaps.

 

[rosemarythyme]

You want bedding to 1) catch and absorb poops and 2) give the chickens something to scratch around in. Photos of the gaps you're talking about?