Coop flooring

[ShaggysGirl]

Hi Guys,
Hubby just came home with some roofing, siding and some other stuff. We are turning a shed that is attached to the garage and a low ceiling area that was added on to the back of our garage in to two coops. Just need to fix metal roof and holes in walls.
My questions are: there is a cement floor in there it has some cracks but isn't to bad. Should I put something down on the floor? Tile? Hay, Straw, wood chips, pine shavings? What is best to keep it clean and non smelly? Should I just leave it in there as is?
When it is done I plan on a lime white wash for the walls and putting lime and DE on the floor.
The run area has some cement and dirt and a bit of grass so I think that should be ok for a bit out there.
Thanks for all the help ya'll have given me.
Chicks are being mailed out next Monday I'm so excited!!
Rhonda

 

[g_a_brand]

from what I have read on here your flooring can be what ever is easy for you to clean ( Im going to try the deep litter method with wood shavings ) it sound like it would work really good with the smell. ( don't forget to get pics for us , lol we really like them )

 

[valentinebaby]

I would definitely add a layer of pine shavings, sprinkled with DE, to soften the floor just a bit. I've seen other posts on here from people who have concrete - just search for that! Good luck!

Gail

 

[Creativedogma]

I use deep litter directly on a cement floor.... start out with 4 inches of litter (pine shavings) & just sprinkle some pine shavings on top of where the poop usually gathers. They tend to poop in the same place at night, under their roosts.

I notice if I sprinkle a handful of litter on top of the poop in the morning that the flies take off. I have not had a smell or fly problem with DLM. I will warn you to watch out for moisture & mold though. I had an area under the waterer that got too wet and mold started to grow. I had to pull up all the shavings in that area & replace with dry stuff.

I plan on replacing the litter 1 -2 times a year. I am in AZ, so its very dry here but I do use a fan and mister outside the coop so the humidity is a bit higher than normal AZ conditions. My girls don't pant at all even when its over 100 degrees.

 

[newtochickens]

I built a chicken house & put a piece of no-wax in it. I bought the no-wax at Home Depot for $20, I cut it tight to the walls & then caulked it to the walls with white silicone. I threw about an inch of two of shavings on top of the no-wax so the chickens don't slide around. I clean the house about once a month with a scoop shovel & it is super easy. I was suprised how clean the no-wax stays. I would assume you could put this over concreate also, but you will have to fasten it down somehow. It would be worth putting some plywood down & attaching the no wax to it.

 

[Yeti]

I would definately put down pine shavings, pellitized horse bedding or some other type of litter. Cleaning (scraping and scraping) chicken poo off of a cement floor does not sound like fun!