Coop being delivered tomorrow...help!

[flipflops]

We ordered a Amish coop that's finally being delivered tomorrow. It's going in our backyard. It's the henhouse and run combo type. Should it just sit directly on the grass or do we need yo put a layer of sand or anything down? What should be used inside the hen house? Any other recommendations would be great!

 

[pennyJo1960]

wow they will decimate the grass you put it on but congratulations do you already have your birds... white shavings at any farm store are great

 

[BYCforlife]

The hens would love sand..... but the grass will get wrecked no matter what- so whatever makes them happy is best.

 

[micstrachan]

How fun! Enjoy! I personally would put it right on the grass and let them destroy it. I would also add a hardware cloth skirt eventually to prevent digging predators. I prefer pine shavings on the house floor, but also like rice hulls.

 

[BYCforlife]

Just make sure you have no hardware cloth on the grass where they'll be walking. They'll hurt their feet trying to scratch.

 

[micstrachan]

Just make sure you have no hardware cloth on the grass where they'll be walking. They'll hurt their feet trying to scratch.

Right! It has to be buried. That stuff is nasty sharp!

 

[flipflops]

So how would we do the skirt? We live in a neighborhood but there are still raccoons dogs cats. I want to insure they cannot break in to get my girls. I assume that my girls are ok to live outside full time now? They are 2.5 months old now. They have had to live in auge box in our garage until our coop was built!
Should we put any lights at the coop in the house etc?

 

[pennyJo1960]

one train of thought is to take cinder blocks lay your hard wire cover with sand then lay cinder blocks end to end inside that deters more and protects also can run a hot wire just
about 4 inches above the cinder blocks on the outside

 

[christwodog]

Electric fence wire is a good predator deterrent, lots of different types available. I have solar powered motion detector lights mounted on each end, they are pretty bright and you can adjust the sensitivity. Not expensive either. Good luck with your flock! They will love their new home!

 

[JackE]

Right! It has to be buried. That stuff is nasty sharp!

I wouldn't bury it. Will rust and come apart, and cause even more problems to a digging chicken.