Coop flooring?

[Luke10]

Hello, i have an 8 by 8 foot shed which i will be keeping 4 hens in and was thinking would it be okay to put chipped bark on the ground of the coop.

Would this cause any harm to my chickens? Or would it be ideal?

I will be getting something like this http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=10288045&fh_view_size=10&fh_eds=%3f&fh_location=%2f%2fcatalog01%2fen_GB%2fcategories%3c%7b9372012%7d%2fcategories%3c%7b9372020%7d%2fcategories%3c%7b9372097%7d&fh_refview=lister&ts=1288477670308&isSearch=false

(Hope the link works)

Thanks, Luke.

 

[Mahonri]

The chipped bark won't be as absorbent as pine shavings.

I have linoleum in my 8X10 and cement for my two 4X10 pens. the 8X10 is so much easier to clean.
Oh, we use DE and Pine shavings in all three.

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

As Mahonri said, pine shavings would be better. You can pick through pine shavings more easily too so it becomes more cost effective. I also put linoleum down over my concrete floor at the recommendation of the BYC'ers and it was a VERY good move!! I got a cheap remnant piece off of Craigslist. My coop stays dry & it's easy to clean out.

 

[sonic909]

Those B&Q ones are fine... i have five of those exact same bags over mine...!

 

[Aria]

We have a cement floor on the barn and use lots of hay and add fresh hay frequently.
{img}http://www.bac Aria

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I have a metal shed with a plywood floor. I sprinkle (heavily) sweet PDZ or DE on the floor and scrape the poo out every two days. Then I shake more powder on the floor. This coats the poo as I scrape it up. I pay $16 for a heavy bag of sweet pdz. Stall Dry I think is similar.

The shed gets wet around the edges on the inside (the floor). We get a LOT of rain.

In other words, wet poo is not any concern of mine for ruining the floor, as the RAIN keeps the floor wet. I tried pine shavings and they got wet. Yucky smell.

I poured bleach water around the edges of the coop after I removed the shavings. Now the coop smells much better since switching to this system.

 

[Luke10]

Thanks guys for your comments. very helpful forum!

 

[Luke10]

Anyone got a link or some info on where i can get pine shavings from?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5046601

 

[sonic909]

Quote:
In the UK i doubt you will...

Pines not as common over here!