Coop bedding/litter options

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I don't know if we have a place like that close or not... but I just remembered, I am pretty sure we have some plexiglass in my bf's work shop!!

@Leigti
I'd love to see some pictures!! Thank you!

@oldhenlikesdogs
Hey lady!! How are you? What about when it rains? Do you have trouble with a lot of rain coming in the open windows in the summer?

I do keep North and west facing windows closed or partially closed depending on how the rain seems to come in rain. The south and east windows I leave open, some rain may come in. If rain is a problem windows that are attached at the top with hinges can be pushed out on the bottom which can block rains. I actually don't get too concerned with rain coming in my coops, but yours you might want to keep dryer. I need good air movement because my sheds can get hot.

 

[DreamsInPink]

What all were you wanting to cover with peg board?  If you are just talking about the opening of the eaves it shouldn't cost much at all to cover those. I would guess you could find someone with that amount in scrap.

Do you mean it shouldn't cost much for hardware cloth to cover the eaves? But yes, that's the only thing we were going to use it for. We have a slant roof, so the 10' sides have a gap at the top and there is also a 3" gap at the top of the plywood on all sides. I'm not sure if my bf didn't calculate correctly, or what. But either way, more ventilation is welcome. So it's fine.

I really prefer the wood framed windows but I went function over beauty for these two. I have a third one that is actually tinted, which will work good for the south side of the coop. I'll get a picture of it later. It is wood framed.

Yes, all of ours will most likely be wood framed, home made. THAT should be interesting. LOL Thank you for the pictures!!

 

[DreamsInPink]

I do keep North and west facing windows closed or partially closed depending on how the rain seems to come in rain. The south and east windows I leave open, some rain may come in. If rain is a problem windows that are attached at the top with hinges can be pushed out on the bottom which can block rains. I actually don't get too concerned with rain coming in my coops, but yours you might want to keep dryer. I need good air movement because my sheds can get hot.

Yes, I saw someone else's windows that were hinged at the top. That's a really good idea. I will probably do that with the plexiglass. My thing though, is I want to have shutters. More for looks than function. I mean, they were going to be for function, until I realized with them closed it would be dark in the coop. So I'm thinking maybe do a flush mount plexiglass window with shutters too! I just wouldn't have to ever close the shutters. Which works for me.

 

[MotoGuzzi]

I am building coop now. It has a raised floor and I thought I would use sand and have hardware cloth above it so the chickens do not walk on sand but on the wire. Has anyone done this?

 

[DreamsInPink]

Hello @motoguzzi!!!

I am a total newbie, but I don't think I would want to do that. Only due to the fact that it might cause problems for the chickens feet/toes. Also, how would you get to the sand to clean it? Or did you mean the sand is on the ground under the coop?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Plus the hardware cloth would just hold the poop and be uncomfortable to stand on.

 

[MotoGuzzi]

I was going to have a frame for the wire that can be lifted up to get to the sand. I thought it would be more sanitary for the chickens if they did not walk in the sand.

 

[flyin-lowe]

Do you mean it shouldn't cost much for hardware cloth to cover the eaves? But yes, that's the only thing we were going to use it for. We have a slant roof, so the 10' sides have a gap at the top and there is also a 3" gap at the top of the plywood on all sides. I'm not sure if my bf didn't calculate correctly, or what. But either way, more ventilation is welcome. So it's fine.

Yes, all of ours will most likely be wood framed, home made. THAT should be interesting. LOL

Thank you for the pictures!!

I guess that depends on how wide your eaves are. I do not have real wide overhangs. I looked on Lowes website and they have a 10 foot by 2 foot roll of HC for $13.00. That sounds a lot better then dealing with soggy peg board.

 

[DreamsInPink]

How wide? Or how tall? Sorry, I'm not very good with some of the terms.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

I am building coop now.  It has a raised floor and I thought I would use sand and have hardware cloth above it so the chickens do not walk on sand but on the wire.  Has anyone done this?

You don't want the chickens walking on wire, it's bad for their feet. Most of the poo won't fall through the wire to the sand below anyway, chicken poo is large & messy!