Do they really need bedding?

[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??

 

[21hens-incharge]

I will toss this out there.
Linoleum is slippery. I do not like my hens hitting just hard floor when getting off the roost.
I want some cushion for those legs when they land.
Size of coop? 8x14.
#of birds in that coop varies. I tend to keep about 2 dozen in that one. The smaller coop is 6x8 and has 14 juveniles right now. Most will be moving to the big house soon.

Oh and I do a half clean method. I scoop out under the roosts, shove what I did not scoop to under the roosts. It takes one bag of shavings to replenish the now cleaned out main area.
I only have to do this twice a month.

 

[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.