Can I deep litter on concrete?

[ladybuglinda]

I'm new here! My 5 Buff Orpingtons (and one Speckled Suxxex) are going to be bigger than I expected them to be and we are scrambling to make a run big enough. We need to move the coop/run for expansion but the best site we have for it is on a concrete slab.

I can't imagine it could possibly drain (with a deep litter of sand), or am I crazy? Maybe the moisture would run off the sides? Help!

 

[Ming Ming]

I recommend deep sand, 4 inches deep
it drains very well and lasts a very long time.

 

[Ming Ming]

and nothing can dig into your run since its concrete

 

[paintedChix]

You asked about deep litter. Did you mean deep bedding or DLM (deep litter method)?

I live in a sandy environment here in NC. We have natural sand so we don't know what critters may have used it for their "potty zones" before we installed chicken coops (on the ground) and runs on 4 different properties.

No amount of cleaning the chicken poop up/out makes the sand smell good. If it gets wet - OMG!!!! Nastiest stuff around. Personally, if we could get rid of all sand (we live in the sandhills and this property, which is ours now, is predominately SAND - everywhere), I would. We are working hard to turn our sandy areas into amended soil areas - using the chickens, using ponies, using wood chips & tree/yard debris, pine cones and pine straw, rolling out old bales of hay to cover/sink into the sand etc. We are looking at some other small, grazing livestock (mini goats, sheep, pigs, mini cattle) to help and reducing our pony numbers to only those that I would use for driving and no longer breeding or breeding on a very limited basis (none of our 4 grand children seem interested in the ponies at all and I'm discovering that w/ the current work to build on this property plus working just short of full time in 10-12 hour days, that the 30 head we have now is WAY TOO MANY). We are learning how to do smaller grazing areas and then move the ponies - rotational grazing. Doesn;t work as well with the number of ponies we have in the area we have them - they need room to run, too...

So - deep litter has been done in coops on top of concrete. I don't know about runs, but I would think it would work the same? You can use a variety of materials, just as you would if you were on the ground. I understand (I've never done DLM on a surface other than directly on the ground) that you would want/need to use some starter dirt to get the DLM to work properly. That "starter dirt" would be dirt/compost that has established mold/bacterial colonies started (the good kinds) and maybe even a handful of earth worms. Then layer in your DLM materials - leaves, twigs, branches, grass clippings, pine straw, pine cones, wood chips (some places can get them FREE - check with tree services in your area), wood shavings, hay, straw, veggie & fruit scraps, tea & coffee bags/filters, shredded paper, shredded paper plates/cereal boxes - etc.

 

[PaulinMO]

Our coop is on top of an old concrete slab and we do deep litter with pine shavings. Ours stays dry though, and I noticed you are talking about a run. Anyway, we've been very happy with the deep litter approach. I rake and stir it every day, and occasionally add another bag of shavings.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! Deep litter is the best; my coop and run are on an old concrete slab, and it's great. I mostly use bagged shavings, and then add some hay, weeds, whatever, to make a nice deep bed. Forget about sand!!! Mary

 

[ericaperry]

I'm new here! My 5 Buff Orpingtons (and one Speckled Suxxex) are going to be bigger than I expected them to be and we are scrambling to make a run big enough. We need to move the coop/run for expansion but the best site we have for it is on a concrete slab.

I can't imagine it could possibly drain (with a deep litter of sand), or am I crazy? Maybe the moisture would run off the sides? Help!

How big is your coop/run? (just for curiousity's sake) We are planning on having our coop+run on a 12x6 concrete slab with 5 chickens. I can't quite imagine how big my full grown chickens will be. My husband is putting his foot down on me stating that they need more space than that.

 

[PaulinMO]

How big is your coop/run? (just for curiousity's sake) We are planning on having our coop+run on a 12x6 concrete slab with 5 chickens. I can't quite imagine how big my full grown chickens will be. My husband is putting his foot down on me stating that they need more space than that.

Our coop is a somewhat comparable size for 6 (alas, 5 now) chickens. It's about 10x10, so 100 ish square feet, while yours is 72 square feet. They certainly don't seem crowded. We are very concerned about predators, so we leave them to putter around in there all day, and then they come out for about an hour of supervised grazing in the early evening.