Bedding

[LakeMomNY]

Wow. Wish it was that easy for me. Mind you, I have two coops with a combined main floor space of just under 102 sq ft. The combined upper " floor" space is almost 52 sq ft. That's 154(give or take)sq ft of floor space for 38 chickens & 4 turkeys. Lotsa cleanin. May be I will put the poop boards back in.
Nah! Winters already set in. There'll still be poop in summer.
Thankfully the ducks and geese prefer to stay out side, even in subzero weather. I just put straw in an open to the south facing 8Wx5Lx3H "hut" like a calf shelter for them. They seem to prefer hunkering down in the snow though.
Loft White, Nilodor in warm water and spruce shavings worked nice for the smell but the chickens would ingest the shavings and the LoftWhite would kinda "glom" together...so now I just use straw.
More work to keep the stink down but iz OK. As well, the straw composts easier to the PH of the soil here as opposed to the softwood shavings making it more acidic.

My covered run is about 112 square feet. My coop is about 36... So that's about 148 square feet together.

Almost exactly the same as you have.

But I only have 8 birds. That free range.

I guess more space really does equal less work.

 

[RezChamp]

Cedar apparently is not so good for the breathing parts of a chickens body. I know for a fact it's definitely unhealthy for pigeons. Especially racing pigeons. I inadvertently killed

$3,000.00+

of my racers one spring

It smells good, true. But I am no longer willing to take the chance to have " sweet smelling" coop.
Dogs poop, people poop, horses poop.... ....besides that there is diesel engines, gas engines(2 & 4 cycle), power saws, hedge trimmers, lawn mowers, commercial hog growing facilities, livestock processing plants, breweries, sewage lagoons and treatment facilities...... I think a little chicken poop smell can be tolerated. It actually clears the sinuses.

 

[Dominik]

I think we will stick with sand for now. If the floor gets too cold I guess I could use our heat lamp or Add something over the sand(they will eat that too). Our 3.5x8 coop is very well insolated and ventilated and our 8x10 covered run is 100% weatherproof and also well ventilated. Its at least 3 to 5*c hotter in the coop and run than outside.( the run is kinda like a ventilated green house with the seethrough plastic on the roof and walls we use for winter)

 

[chiklee]

I use hay and leaves They love it
I just gather it up throw it in there and its fun all day for them it absorbs smells good has lots of bugs I bag them for winter use them when it gets ground and dug up and is very soft in their nest boxes They never complain and makes a great compost in the summer . I have cold winters and the sand does get cold I did notice I do get more eggs in the winter with the leaves than I did with the sand . So I stick to the leaves and hay .

 

[jeanmarieblack]

I use shavings and here at our local feed store you can get either the small or large flaked shavings. And in the winter I add some straw on top of the savings for extra warmth. This is in my chicken house which may be the difference since I let them out in the morning and they free range around my house all day. I think chickens will eat anything and everything especially in a smaller space, although we were doing some work around the house and inadvertently left out a couple of large styrofoam blocks and they went to town on those. That was in the summertime with all of the great bugs, etc all around. Plus, what one chicken eats, the others will follow. Sand offers no insulation, which would not work here in my hills of SW VA. The beauty of the shavings is that they compost wonderfully, which we subsequently place on our garden throughout the entire growing season. Don't worry so much about it - just keep the feed close by and plentiful and they will be fine.

 

[suzMEchicks]

Great info everyone. I use pine shavings but i am going to try the deep layer method and mixing with leaves and pineneedles. Its very cold here in Maine in winter. We had -15 too many times last winter. Not as bad as Canadaor upper state NY though!

 

[Shabana]

I use hempcore for inside the coop and nesting boxes. The one I buy has a eucalyptus oil in it which I'm told is good for breathing and conditions feathers. I don't know about that ..
I buy it because it's easy to pick poop out of each day, it's absorbent, smells nice, cushions their landings, and I can just add to it as I go along.
I use straw in the run during winter months to keep them out of mud and off frozen ground.

 

[mrballance]

My covered run is about 112 square feet. My coop is about 36... So that's about 148 square feet together.

Almost exactly the same as you have.

But I only have 8 birds. That free range.

I guess more space really does equal less work.

Lake I do the same as you. I have 9 Hens and 142 sq ft of coop and run space.

 

[LakeMomNY]

Lake I do the same as you. I have 9 Hens and 142 sq ft  of coop and run space.

mrballance - If you aren't already using them I highly recommend a 5 gallon bucket with horizontal nipples for water and this https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/6028340/ type of feeder.

I change the water and top off the food weekly, but could easily go two weeks if I had to.

I LOVE being able to be a lazy chicken mom.

 

[mrballance]

mrballance - If you aren't already using them I highly recommend a 5 gallon bucket with horizontal nipples for water and this https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/6028340/ type of feeder.

I change the water and top off the food weekly, but could easily go two weeks if I had to.

I LOVE being able to be a lazy chicken mom.

LakeMom, I use a feeder and water container that I fill up once a week. Good for me . I check on it Daily just to be sure. Good to know that I'm not the only one doing it this way. You Rock Missy !!!