Do I even need bedding in my coop?

[sunshine ducky]

Hey everyone, So I have a small coop with two hens in it. And I was thinking to add a wood floor at the bottom of it and attach a tarp over the wood. So every week I could take the peice of wood out (keep In mind there is a tarp attached to it) and just hose it down and clean it. This wood floor I'm thinking of is removable so I'm sort of cleaning it like a hutch. The reason I don't want bedding is that it just doesn't work out for me. So with this idea in mind, do you think it will work? Thanks!

Ps: here is an image of my coop

 

[SunHwaKwon]

It will be a stinky mess and they will be walking in their poop all week. What you have there doesn't need a floor at all, and can actually be more like a chicken tractor and you just move it to a fresh spot. Though you will want to take care to protect them from digging predators. Once a fox catches on to that, they will be gone in an instant.

 

[aart]

Hey everyone, So I have a small coop with two hens in it. And I was thinking to add a wood floor at the bottom of it and attach a tarp over the wood. So every week I could take the peice of wood out (keep In mind there is a tarp attached to it) and just hose it down and clean it. This wood floor I'm thinking of is removable so I'm sort of cleaning it like a hutch. The reason I don't want bedding is that it just doesn't work out for me. So with this idea in mind, do you think it will work? Thanks!


Ps: here is an image of my coop

I would not call that a coop, especially in your climate.
More like a day pen...maybe.
It is not secure from predators at all, except hawks.

Agrees with SHK's assessment of tarped wood.

 

[Teila]

Hey there sunshine ducky

I can’t quite picture what you mean in the enclosure you currently have.

However, if it helps, we do have a removable, slatted timber floor in our raised coop [no tarp] which works well in our climate where the gals only really go into the coop to lay and roost, the rest of the time is spent wandering around the garden.

Each morning I simply sweep up the overnight poops under the roost and give the floor a wipe over and once a week, completely remove the floor and wash it with hot soapy water and dry in the sun:

 

[ChickenMammX4]

It will be a stinky mess and they will be walking in their poop all week. What you have there doesn't need a floor at all, and can actually be more like a chicken tractor and you just move it to a fresh spot. Though you will want to take care to protect them from digging predators. Once a fox catches on to that, they will be gone in an instant.

Ditto that!

 

[Howard E]

To the OP, when you say "bedding doesn't work out for me", what does that mean? Are you moving this often to new ground so don't want to leave a bedding patch behind? Or what?

 

[N F C]

I would think that without bedding you could run into leg issues with the chickens walking on a tarp-covered wood floor...sounds slippery.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Why not use bedding? What do you mean it does not work out for you?

Gary

 

[TalkALittle]

Hey everyone, So I have a small coop with two hens in it. And I was thinking to add a wood floor at the bottom of it and attach a tarp over the wood. So every week I could take the peice of wood out (keep In mind there is a tarp attached to it) and just hose it down and clean it. This wood floor I'm thinking of is removable so I'm sort of cleaning it like a hutch. The reason I don't want bedding is that it just doesn't work out for me. So with this idea in mind, do you think it will work? Thanks!

Ps: here is an image of my coop

If this is your permanent coop I imagine that poop management is the least of your problems. I don't see it holding up to Maine weather or predators.

If poop is building up just move the pen to a new spot often.

If you don't have enough room or want to keep the pen in one spot then you have some options:

Let them run on dirt and just periodically scrape the poop up and turn the soil over. In guessing this is what you do now and you are looking for something different.

Construct a frame of lumber to hold in organic material and set the pen on it. A mix of shavings, dried leaves, grass clippings, chopped straw or hay works well to mix with and cover the poop and help it compost down.

Install a poop tray to catch the poop they produce when on the roost at night and remove it. An elevated tray (or hammock) will prevent them from walking in it and not reduce usable space in the run. Unfortunately, it looks like you don't have a ton of height in that pen so this might not be an option.

Honestly though, as long as you're making changes, I'd suggest some upgrades that will make it more predator and weather proof. The chicken wire keeps your birds in but pretty much any predator can rip through it.