Cement ground for the run?

[kealalegacy]

I have minimal space to build my coop and run... I would like to have a coop where my girls can go at night, that I will close up to help minimize noise (the homes here are VERY close together!) but the space I have is extremely limited! a large part of it is cement... so what I want to know is... if I cover the ground with straw and provide a space with dust/sand for their dust baths... would it be okay for the coop/run to be on the cement?

Of course I want the girls to be happy, but I need to be realistic with the space I have to use...

Thank you so much for your insight!

*

. Keala

 

[BorderKelpie]

I think it would be ok. I would maybe use pine or aspen shavings. My guys love their fresh shavings.
Throw your lawn clippings in, too.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

When I was younger I volunteered at a world class zoo's farm exhibit where they had a wonderful coop building. Of course, cleanliness was of utmost importance, not only for the health of the animals, but for "display purposes" as well. All of the coops and covered runs had concrete floors with drains in the centers. They kept stall mats on the floors in the coop, but if I'm recalling correctly they did not use them in the runs. None of the birds seemed to have any ill effects from this, and the runs were a snap to spray down and keep sparkling clean!

I think your girls would do fine. If you have good drainage so you can also keep it sprayed down regularly, try the stall mats. If not, straw or shavings would be good. I would not leave bare concrete unless you can spray it down almost daily, just due to the ick factor.

 

[joebryant]

I guess I don't understand what your problem is because I think having a concrete floor that drains is the ideal situation; ain't nuttin gonna dig its way into that. Build your coop on part of it and use the rest for your run. Put wood shavings in your coop and cover the concrete run with at least six inches of sand. See My BYC Page for pictures.
My two 4x8 coops both have 12" X 12" stepping stones under their wooden floors. You're lucky; your coop AND run can have an impervious bottom.

 

[kealalegacy]

Thank you so much! I dont know why Im being so nervous... I guess because this is my first coop I want to do it right. LOL! Ive only had my girls for 2 weeks and theyve already stolen my heart!

Well I have a little bit of time to work on the outdoor space for them so I will continue to research amd get ideas from this site.

@joebryant - you have an amazing space for them! I think its about as big as my house... LOL!

 

[frog522]

I just recently build a small run (6' x 4') on cement. I put down sand on top of the concrete. It works great. The longest I've gone so far without cleaning the run was 6 days and I still didn't smell anything bad! It really works wonders. My plan for the upcoming month is to get a tarp or install a cover on the run to prevent minimize the sand in the run from getting wet on rainy days.

If it helps I can take a picture later of my current setup on cement ground and post it for you.

 

[Mtn Cur]

Coop would be okay, but not in the run. Half if not more of a chickens life is scratching. Even if you layed shavings very thick they will hit bottom, and i'm sure concrete wouldn't be good on there feet. Smooth finish or not.

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
Actually, it would be good for the chickens to scratch on the concrete some. It will keep their toe nails from getting too long, a problem that many chickens develop if they don't freerange.

 

[mburpo]

Is it ideal? No...

Is it acceptable and ok? Absolutely...

Will it be easy to clean? YES!

My 25'x25' coop has a smooth finish cement floor. It doesn't bother the birds at all. However, they love being able to scratch and dust bathe outside.

If it were me, I would build the run similar to a raised flour bed, but I don't know your budget, so it may not be feasible/realistic. Run 1x8's or 1x6's along the bottom and fill it with fill dirt of some sort. Make sure you pack it good, then plant grass seed giving it ample time to grow and get a root system going before moving your chickens in. I can do up some kind of diagram or something for you, if you'd like. I was thinking about doing this for some breeding pens to make it ultra-secure, actually.

 

[chicmom]

Hi there! I just think about how much my chickens love to scratch around, and cement isn't scratchable. But if that's the only space you have, I'm sure it'll be OK. Why not put a nice layer of sand over the cement? Truly, I've tried all types of flooring for my chicken run....dirt, hay, even fall leaves.....The dirt got wet and stinky, the hay wasn't too bad, but the sand, in my opinion, was the very best stuff for the chicken run.....You can just scoop up the chicken poo with a kitty litter scoop, and just rake up the sand and it's all good. It doesn't get stinky if it gets wet. And the chickens just love it!

So I guess I'd say your cement run will be OK, but put some sand over it! Your chickens will love it!