Do they really need bedding?

[xcalibor67]

Yes, the thread is old, but instead of starting another, the topic is exactly spot on. My coop is not very big and has Linoleum flooring over wood. My roosts are on the back wall. Havent had my chickens but about 3 months now, and i use no bedding period. Perhaps im cheap, or perhaps it not needed? My hens are not quite old enough to lay(hope soon).With my fully automatic watering system in the coop, ive no room for deep liter method.. Its summertime and from the time my chicks get up, other than eating they stay outside in the 2 runs or under the coop on hot days..85% of the poop is right under the roosts and every day when i check on my feathered friends, i find very very lil moist poop.I take my little 10" wide sheet rock mud knife and scrape across the Linoleum weekly with dust pan and a bucket in hand. Takes all of about 10'15 mins. IF and when my hens start laying and i find that im getting poo on my eggs, i might do something different, but for now im happy, and my chicks are happy...Somewhere in my mind i hear people speak of "Deep Liter method" and how they throw feed on top of all the poo and degraded shavings/paper so they hens will actually dig through it but yet in another sentence they talk of poo on the chickens foot because of no bedding...Maybe its just me, but i really do have to scratch my head and say HMMMM...Whether you use a deep liter method, or change the bedding weekly, or use no bedding at all, at some point i promise you your chicken will step in poo. I guess the main thing is how much time your chickens spend actually in the coop, how many you have, and how big it is...

 

[jeria]

Expensive shavings!! They at $4.00-6.00 a bag here depending on where you buy them and if they have a special and 1 compressed bag covers a lot of space. Pet store prices??

 

[xcalibor67]

Mine has 1'4 foam padding and some type of texture, not slick...got this from my dad but will ask where he found it...My roosts are about 24" off the floor.. Please dont get me wrong, its not that i cant afford shavings, and if i feel they were needed, i surely would buy/use them...1st thing i learned at BYC is that whats meets one persons needs may not meet yours..

 

[xcalibor67]

To me, the ideal flooring would be to have a concrete slab with enough 1/8 weep holes in the bottom, 3" raised sides filled with sand...Might be a good project for me to start on lol..Not to mention it would give me a reason to use the bobcat to tear this one down.

 

[Revan]

I use grass hay for my chickens. I have to buy it anyway ($8 a bale) as I have other livestock that eat it, and my hens absolutely love it. I find it's pretty absorbent, they love to nest in it, and I think they even eat it. The small bits and pieces anyway. Never have had any problems with it and I only need to use a few pounds of it and it lasts for a couple months. I've only have ever had bad experiences with wood shavings so I stay a mile away from it.

 

[ben0125]

Expensive shavings!! They at $4.00-6.00 a bag here depending on where you buy them and if they have a special and 1 compressed bag covers a lot of space. Pet store prices??

Lucky you, shavings cost around $30NZD ($21USD) in New Zealand, That is for a big bag though.

 

[RNPAULIE69]

I just mucked out my coop this weekend. I bought six huge bags of shavings to put back in, but the whole thing was a mess to clean out. The flooring is cement, they free range during the day (except to lay eggs) Is there a reason to have bedding in the summer?

I have the means to do it if they need it. It just seems so much easier to shovel out the poop than all the bedding with it..

Oh and they seem to scratch the shavings all outside just to annoy me. It seems like a lot of upkeep. I can not easily put something in front of the door to block shavings...

What a 1x6 inside door on the floor? That would keep them from kicking it out

 

[Hokum Coco]

It just seems so much easier to shovel out the poop than all the bedding with it..

It took me 68 years to arrive at that same conclusion!

I have gone with a 2" grid (wire gauge near the size of a pencil to support my weight) over my coop floor. Similar to what is pictured below with 4"x4"x4" cubed blocks stationed underneath the grid on top of a tarp to form a drop pit it worked excellent all summer and I cleaned the coop before winter set in and things freeze solid. The grid even keeps your chickens feet cleaner which in turn keeps your eggs and nest boxes less soiled. I live in Canada and am subject to -40º temperatures.

Clean up is simple replace the tarp with a second one. Spread the first tarp out in the sun to bake and dry. Then flex the first tarp over the compost bin and hose off any stubborn chicken poop.

Easy Peasy Japaneasy.