Coop Flooring

[MamaYayaHen]

The thing with the pads is that water could get underneath them,
that could cause a moldy, anaerobic mess.


Would you post some pics of this coop?

Oh, and....Welcome to BYC! @MamaYayaHen
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 4021011

Oh wow - thanks for the tip on how to update the info - I couldn't find it on my account profile earlier! I have updated my location which is Los Angeles. I don't have pictures of the inside of my coop, but here is the outside - it's not finished yet, and there is no run attached yet either. And yes, I told you that I splurged, and now, I'm broke. LOL.

Yeah, I am worried about mold and other stuff growing under the mats. The reason why we don't have chickens right now is because we're dealing with a mold remediation of our house right now. I'm not going to get chickens for at least a few more months since it's going to be at least 4 more months of absolutely no fun with our house.

 

[MamaYayaHen]

What kind of bedding you use may depend on how you manage the manure.
This is about cleaning, but covers my big picture

-I use poop boards under roosts with thin(<1/2") layer of sand/PDZ mix, sifted daily(takes 5-10mins) into bucket going to friends compost.
-Scrape big or wet poops off roost and ramps as needed.
- Large flake pine shavings on coop floor, add some occasionally, totally changed out once or twice a year, old shavings added to run.
- My runs have semi-deep litter(cold composting), never clean anything out, just add smaller dry materials on occasion, add larger wood chippings as needed.
Aged ramial wood chippings are best IMO.
-Nests are bedded with straw, add some occasionally, change out if needed(broken egg).

There is no odor, unless a fresh cecal has been dropped and when I open the bucket to add more poop.

That's how I keep it 'clean', have not found any reason to clean 'deeper' in 10+ years.

Oh wow - thank you for all of this! I hadn't heard of poop boards until I joined this website. I'm definitely starting to research them since they might make sense. I haven't installed the roosts yet, but I think they are supposed to go right near the coop clean out door, so it might make more sense to have a poop board for easier clean out.

I saw that The Chicken Chick has a whole article about the droppings board and what worked for her. Do you use just a wood board covered in something for your poop board or something fancier?

I hadn't heard of Ramial Wood Chippings, but I think I was going to start off with just using pine shavings since I still have a ton left over that wasn't used for my other coop. I do like the idea of PDZ on the poop boards for sure.