dog kennel?

[tarutgers]

Hello everyone...newbie here
We purchased a small three acre property a couple months ago. My husband and I both grew up on farms, one dairy and one grain. We are so excited our 10 year old will get to experience country life. The property has a nice large barn with a loft which was completely retinned in 2009 and is in fair shape inside with a nice concrete floor. One of the "doorways" of barn was made into a indoor outdoor dog kennel with kennel panels inside sitting on concrete floor and kennel panels buried around concrete slab outside. Inside kennel has wooden dog house I thought maybe could be taken out and used as separate brood house. Two questions: Health issues from dogs? Do I need bedding on floor?

 

[animallover505]

Hello everyone...newbie here
We purchased a small three acre property a couple months ago. My husband and I both grew up on farms, one dairy and one grain. We are so excited our 10 year old will get to experience country life. The property has a nice large barn with a loft which was completely retinned in 2009 and is in fair shape inside with a nice concrete floor. One of the "doorways" of barn was made into a indoor outdoor dog kennel with kennel panels inside sitting on concrete floor and kennel panels buried around concrete slab outside. Inside kennel has wooden dog house I thought maybe could be taken out and used as separate brood house. Two questions: Health issues from dogs? Do I need bedding on floor?

bedding on floor is a must. I doubt the dog will give them problems

 

[PoultryGirly]

I bought I dog kennel for my chickens' run area. Yes, I definitely would put bedding down. The dog shouldn't cause them problems, but just in case, I would maybe disinfect with poultry-safe disinfectant.

 

[tarutgers]

Thanks. Will spraying off the wooden dog house with poultry disinfectant be enough for future brooder once it is taken out of main flock pen? Do I need bedding inside and outside (both concrete)? I thought bedding was for the nesting boxes. I do have a small plastic swimming pool with sand for bathing.

 

[animallover505]

Thanks. Will spraying off the wooden dog house with poultry disinfectant be enough for future brooder once it is taken out of main flock pen? Do I need bedding inside and outside (both concrete)? I thought bedding was for the nesting boxes. I do have a small plastic swimming pool with sand for bathing.

try dirt, straw, and leaves outside and hay, straw, or shavings inside.

 

[PoultryGirly]

Yes, I think the disinfectant will be fine. Everything sounds good! Yes, bedding will be needed inside and out, especially on concrete!

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes you need something soft for bedding inside and out. Pine shavings would be great for the inside and outside you could use dirt, leaves, sand, pine bark, mulch, pine needles, or a combination of some. Pine shavings would get moldy, so I wouldn't use them. Chickens will get bumblefoot pretty easily if they walk around on, or jump down on a hard surface. Look up "deep littler method" on here to learn the easy way for taking care of your coop. It works best on dirt, but you can still practice this on concrete.

 

[PoultryGirly]

For bedding I would use straw. It's easiest to clean out and it doesn't make a huge mess.

 

[tarutgers]

Thanks for all the helpful advice. I am sure I will have more questions, its nice to get advice from those in the know! Adding to my original question:
Has anyone tried rubber matting for flooring? I have an uncle that has them in his dairy barns for the same purpose the chickens would--to soften the concrete floors. He uses them because they are easy to keep clean (sweep and mop) and they take the chill out of the concrete, but mostly because its not good for dairy cows to stand in one place on a hard surface. He buys the stuff in huge rolls and has offered enough to do both inside the coop and the outside run for FREE. Really need to know if this is n aacceptable replacement for loose bedding on floors for chicken feet health. Thank you for any comments!