Coop Setup? Food, shavings..etc.

[AmberNate]

Hi everyone!
I'm a brandy new chicken mama and have 4 eight week old Easter eggers. They're still in their brooder and we will be moving them to their coop in the next couple weeks.
They have a small attached outdoor run, and then a ramp into their indoor coop. They run is on dirt/weeds.
Here come the questions... Lol

Where do you put pine shavings? Inside the coop only or out in the run as well?
Where does their food and water go? In the coop or in the run? Is it on the ground or do you hang it?
The deep litter method, does that only work if the coop and run are touching the ground? The coop is up off the ground.
What's your suggestions for cleaning the inside of the coop? How often? Are the pull out poop trays a good thing to have?
Does the run need to be cleaned somehow? Should I put straw or bedding in the run?
Do the nesting boxes get anything special or just pine shavings as well?
Where do you put the DE or First Saturday Lime?
What's your dust bath recipe you use and does that go in the run or the coop?
Did you get your chickens vaccinated? Do they need it?
We plan on getting an automatic coop door. Any suggestions on which brand?
Are there any food/kitchen scraps chickens cannot eat or are poisoness to them?
Can I see pics of your coop setup?!
Thank you all so much in advance if you read and answer any of this. Hahaha
I really appreciate the help!

 

[BleuSaphir]

Leave the run as is. Only put bedding inside the coop.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I am not a shavings person.

 

[BleuSaphir]

When the coop smells, that certainly a good time to give it a good cleaning. You can use straw, pine shaving for bedding and nest material. They are not picky.

 

[black_cat]

Do you have a picture of the coop?
I only put shavings in the coop part of my coop, although they make up part of the mess of different materials that is my run. The run does not need to be cleaned, only raked on occasion. Nesting boxes just have shavings, too. I would advise against using DE.

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

Pictures of your setup would help. It the run is tiny, and you get a fair amount of rain, it will likely turn into a muddy mess in no time if you don't put something on the ground. But if it is large and/or you live in the desert like I do, mud likely won't be an issue.

 

[DobieLover]

Hi everyone!
I'm a brandy new chicken mama and have 4 eight week old Easter eggers. They're still in their brooder and we will be moving them to their coop in the next couple weeks.
They have a small attached outdoor run, and then a ramp into their indoor coop. They run is on dirt/weeds.
Here come the questions... Lol

Where do you put pine shavings? Inside the coop only or out in the run as well?
Where does their food and water go? In the coop or in the run? Is it on the ground or do you hang it?
The deep litter method, does that only work if the coop and run are touching the ground? The coop is up off the ground.
What's your suggestions for cleaning the inside of the coop? How often? Are the pull out poop trays a good thing to have?
Does the run need to be cleaned somehow? Should I put straw or bedding in the run?
Do the nesting boxes get anything special or just pine shavings as well?
Where do you put the DE or First Saturday Lime?
What's your dust bath recipe you use and does that go in the run or the coop?
Did you get your chickens vaccinated? Do they need it?
We plan on getting an automatic coop door. Any suggestions on which brand?
Are there any food/kitchen scraps chickens cannot eat or are poisoness to them?
Can I see pics of your coop setup?!
Thank you all so much in advance if you read and answer any of this. Hahaha
I really appreciate the help!

Can you post pictures of your coop and run?
Where are you located in the world? Climate will affect how you design/improve your setup.
No poop trays.
No DE or lime.
I keep food and water in the run, both elevated to minimize what will get scratched into them.
Food is in the hanging troughs in this picture. Water is not in the camera view. It's a heated base fount waterer kept at chest height on a block.

I had two batches of shipped chicks vaccinated for Marek's. All hatched chicks are au naturale.

I use poop boards in the coop, cleaned daily. Hemp bedding and/or pine shavings on the coop floor, cleaned annually. Wood chips in the run, add more annually. The chickens dig holes and dust bathe willy nilly around the run. Chopped straw in the nest boxes.

Avoid citrus, avocado peels, apple seeds and pits. I also avoid excessively fibrous veggie waste like broccoli stems.
No automatic door out of the run...yet. I have the components and will be making my own door.

 

[BleuSaphir]

I would suggest to get a shovel and till the dirt over time when it become hard and full of poo. My chickens loved when I till the dirt for fresh soil. They went bonkers to catch earth worm beneath when the turn soil became too fertile.

When they see me with the shovel, they know to come back to their coop! LOL

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

Can you post pictures of your coop and run?
Where are you located in the world? Climate will affect how you design/improve your setup.
No poop trays.
No DE or lime.
I keep food and water in the run, both elevated to minimize what will get scratched into them.
Food is in the hanging troughs in this picture. Water is not in the camera view. It's a heated base fount waterer kept at chest height on a block.

I had two batches of shipped chicks vaccinated for Marek's. All hatched chicks are au naturale.
View attachment 2533662
I use poop boards in the coop, cleaned daily. Hemp bedding and/or pine shavings on the coop floor, cleaned annually. Wood chips in the run, add more annually. The chickens dig holes and dust bathe willy nilly around the run. Chopped straw in the nest boxes.
View attachment 2533669
Avoid citrus, avocado peels, apple seeds and pits. I also avoid excessively fibrous veggie waste like broccoli stems.
No automatic door out of the run...yet. I have the components and will be making my own door.

Aren't potato peels bad too?

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

@DobieLover How far should the roost boards themselves be from the wall for large hens? (I have turkeys so mine is about 26 inches from the wall so as not to mess up their tails. But I know that is way more than necessary for chickens since they are much smaller. )