Coop advise needed!

[mspj]

I'm new at raising chickens so please understand my ignorance. I am converting a portion of our barn into the coop (cow barn), it has a rough & uneven concrete floor with cracks that I just recently cleaned. It was covered with straw and old manure. The barn has not been used for years, we purchased the property about 5 years ago and it had been vacant for about 3 years before that. I have also learned that the previous owners had not had cows in several years so no telling how long that stuff has been there, it was very very dry! So my question is should I sanitize the area, and should I put straw over the concrete? They will have their own private door to the run

I have 23 chicks that are about 4-1/2 weeks old, I think 5 maybe 6 are roosters, which leads to another question, at what age should they be separated? I don't want any cock fights so some will be put in the freezer.

Thanks in advance for any responses! Pam

 

[midget_farms]

Hi. I wish i had a setup like yours! Sounds very nice.

First. No need to sanitize. Chickens have lived in barns for centuries w/o wearing surgical scrubs. Just keep it clean with straw or wood shavings & keep it dry & you will never have an issue.

You can keep the roosters with the flock. They will work out a pecking order too. You o ly have real problems when you try to bring in a roo that wasnt raised there.

Best of luck!

 

[SobbaChickens]

I wouldn't clean it personally, it's nature lol people just need to deal with it. As far as putting something down on the floor there are a lot of options, I'd just throw down cedar shavings. You're very lucky to have a barn to work with!

Katie

 

[mspj]

Thanks for the responses, I'll take pictures and post them once I get it finished. Have to put up chicken wire to keep the barn cats out while the chicks are still young, I don't trust the older cats. I hope to get the chicks moved in this next weekend.