Coop flooring

[Daniellelyn]

Hi,
This is our first batch of chickens. We have 6, 4 hens and 2 roosters. They are currently 8 weeks old. We got a coop from Tractor Supply, I put wheels on it and recently we built a deck because it was killing our grass.

In the top area where they sleep we have pine shaving. On the bottom we put some cement board to protect the deck. My question is, do I have to put pine shavings on the bottom? They are so messy and I want to be able to rinse daily, all the chicken poop. They spend most of their day hanging in our fenced in yard on the grass, rocks, woods and they love our front door. They go in the coop to eat and then at night to sleep.

 

[black_cat]

The part of the coop where they sleep is called the coop. The bottom, more open part that has the cement is called the run. You probably do want to put something down, because there will be times that they have to stay in the coop and run because of safety issues, and you want them to have stuff to peck and scratch in.

 

[SavyNic]

I noticed one has sitting water in it, you might want to find a way to level it a little more so your feather babies aren't getting wet! It can make them sick but chickens like to scratch and take dust baths, so if you can, you could try putting down a layer of sand as a base and it could also make it much easier for you to keep clean! Also, you have some very sweet looking birds

 

[Daniellelyn]

I noticed one has sitting water in it, you might want to find a way to level it a little more so your feather babies aren't getting wet! It can make them sick but chickens like to scratch and take dust baths, so if you can, you could try putting down a layer of sand as a base and it could also make it much easier for you to keep clean! Also, you have some very sweet looking birds

Thank you, the water is because I just washed it. We are in GA and it dries very quickly. What are some other options to put on the bottom? Or maybe I could put a pan in the bottom filled with something?

 

[Daniellelyn]

The part of the coop where they sleep is called the coop. The bottom, more open part that has the cement is called the run. You probably do want to put something down, because there will be times that they have to stay in the coop and run because of safety issues, and you want them to have stuff to peck and scratch in.

Thanks for your reply and helping with my chicken terminology Do you know of any other options that we could put in the run for easy clean up?

 

[3KillerBs]

Thanks for your reply and helping with my chicken terminology Do you know of any other options that we could put in the run for easy clean up?

I'm a fan of the deep litter system, which is a form of cold composting.

You use a mix of wood chips, shavings, pine straw, straw, leaves, and/or any other compost "brown" material to turn the poop into garden gold. Once you've got it working the composting process completely deodorizes the poop and you only need to clean it out when the pile becomes inconveniently high or you want to harvest compost for the garden.

 

[Daniellelyn]

Ok, that sounds wonderful. Maybe I can do that in some kind of shallow bin on the bottom?

 

[SavyNic]

Thank you, the water is because I just washed it. We are in GA and it dries very quickly. What are some other options to put on the bottom? Or maybe I could put a pan in the bottom filled with something?

There are so many options out there! I know some people who just bag their grass clippings and rake up leaves and toss those in! I do know some people use shavings, but in my opinion they get nasty so quickly compared other options. Plus, if you use something more "natural" it might attract bugs for your chickens to eat!

 

[black_cat]

Thanks for your reply and helping with my chicken terminology Do you know of any other options that we could put in the run for easy clean up?

No problem! Two of the most popular ones are sand and the deep litter method. Sand is easy to scoop out like a cat litter box, but you have to make sure that you're getting the right type of sand. Play sand like you would use in a sand box is too fine and can lead to respiratory issues. You need to make sure to get construction sand or river sand. Many people get it cheap from local quarries.
The deep litter method is started with a layer of some sort of dirt or mulch or something like that. To clean it, if it gets super stinky you can rake it to turn it over and add a fresh layer of mulch. You can add lots of things to this as long as they will break down, like leaves or grass clippings.