Coop moisture? How to prevent?

[BibbelBop]

Hi! My mom and keep backyard chickens and this is our second winter with our coop. We had put down some mats and then shavings/hay over top. The last time we cleaned everything out to refresh it we noticed that a lot of moisture had been gathering under the mats. We took them out and have been letting everything dry up but with winter coming we were hoping to use the mats again for extra insulation and for comfort for the hens when walking but aren’t sure since the moisture could cause our hens to become sick? Is condensation like that okay for our hens? Is there something we can do to prevent it? Will they get sick from this?


*side note - we often leave our coop door open at nighttime (we close the one to the run so they’re still safe and contained) but there’s plenty of air flow. Weird for the moisture to still be there? We will be closing it on the colder nights coming up though.

Right now we just have some towels down but have cedar bedding we going to add.

 

[CHlCKEN]

You may try a more absorbent bedding. That could even just be a different brand of shavings. I’ve found that the TSC brand absorbs almost nothing and have since switched to flock party (the only other brand available lol) even though it is more expensive. I’ve noticed it lasts much longer and works a lot better though so to me it is worth it.

I would also add more to your bedding layer/deepen it some.

 

[Bawkbok]

Ditto to Chicken's comment on the shavings. We also use Flock Party - they are triple heated I think, so more absorbency and less dust. We use the cheaper TSC pine shavings in the poop tray.

 

[Logar]

cedar bedding we going to add.

Cedar is toxic. Please do not use it

 

[aart]

The last time we cleaned everything out to refresh it we noticed that a lot of moisture had been gathering under the mats.

First, good to find out where the moisture is coming from.
From rain water leaking in somehow, spilled waterer inside coop?
Pics of coop all around from outside might help to see what all ventilation you have.
How big is coop, in feet by feet(or meters by meters)?
How many birds?

Wood shavings(not cedar) without the pads would be a good start.
Measure the humidity inside and outside the coop with the same hygrometer.

 

[BibbelBop]

Cedar is toxic. Please do not use it

It's actually pine shavings. I got it mixed up.

 

[BibbelBop]

You may try a more absorbent bedding. That could even just be a different brand of shavings. I’ve found that the TSC brand absorbs almost nothing and have since switched to flock party (the only other brand available lol) even though it is more expensive. I’ve noticed it lasts much longer and works a lot better though so to me it is worth it.

I would also add more to your bedding layer/deepen it some.

Thank you, this is what we're trying right now.

 

[BibbelBop]

First, good to find out where the moisture is coming from.
From rain water leaking in somehow, spilled waterer inside coop?
Pics of coop all around from outside might help to see what all ventilation you have.
How big is coop, in feet by feet(or meters by meters)?
How many birds?

Wood shavings(not cedar) without the pads would be a good start.
Measure the humidity inside and outside the coop with the same hygrometer.

Thank you! I didn't even think to consider some of these things. I really appreciate your advice and response

 

[Sally PB]

Just a thought if it is rain leaking in.

I had a wet area on the floor, realized it was due to a leak. But couldn't find a leak near the puddle. The actual leak was in a spot about 3 feet away, and the water naturally ran to the lowest point in the floor.

 

[Bawkbok]

Cedar is toxic. Please do not use it

Well, on a negative note, I accidentally bought cedar mulch instead of oak mulch and spread it in the run before realizing it. I have no sense of smell so I couldn't smell it as I was working. Explains why there are no bugs in our dirt run. The work was already done before reading here that it is toxic. Why is that? I picked up as much as I could, the larger pieces anyway. I covered and mixed in the rest with compost dirt, dry leaves and some pine pellets. This was a month or so ago. On a positive note, the girls are still alive. I really messed that one up. I suppose over time the cedar will break down and in the process become less toxic or should I go through the painstaking effort of removing as much as possible?