Chicken Coop

[eagle227]

I have a 12 x 16 mini barn with a plywood floor that I am going to use as a coop. Should I use sand or pine chips to put on the floor? I have 15 Buff Orphington and 10 New Hampshire Red hens. I am very new at this and have many question.

 

[iwiw60]

Personally I'd choose pine shavings...I love them. But I'm questioning having 25 birds in a coop your size....seems a bit too small, especially with the large heavy breeds you have.

 

[eagle227]

How many chickens would you recommend for a coop that size. I'm going to have 10 or 12 of them butchered in November when they are about 4 months old. In have read on here to put lino on the floor for easy cleaning and one person said to use Blackjack #57 on the plywood floor.i thought about putting down lino and then covering it with pine chips.

 

[bobshere]

You should be OK. That is over 7 square feet per bird. You will need about 50 feet of roosting space. I use softwood shaving on the floor for easy cleanup .

 

[iwiw60]

How many chickens would you recommend for a coop that size. I'm going to have 10 or 12 of them butchered in November when they are about 4 months old. In have read on here to put lino on the floor for easy cleaning and one person said to use Blackjack #57 on the plywood floor.i thought about putting down lino and then covering it with pine chips.

Black Jack ... Linoleum ... there are endless threads here at BYC on the subject. Guess it just comes down to preference. But I do agree that using pine wood shavings (not chips) would be great...they smell good, too!

 

[eagle227]

Thanks for the information. I was concerned the Blackjack might be toxic to chickens.

 

[DaveOmak]

Thanks for the information. I was concerned the Blackjack might be toxic to chickens.

I would not use Blackjack to hold down the lino.... I just laid my lino in the coop and used screwed down boards to hold it in place, around the perimeter... under the lino I sprayed bifenthrin to kill mites etc. that entered the coop.... some folks spread food grade Diatomaceous Earth under the lino for the same effect.... Seven dust should control mites also...

Your coop will be plenty big enough for those birds.... They will need a fair sized run also....

I'm planning on 8 + birds in a 32 sq ft coop and 240 sq ft run.... hopefully it will reduce squabbles and fights....