Enclosed Run Flooring and Playhouse Coop HELP

[xtatix]

First time chicken mama. Need some reassurance or better suggestions for a few things.

1] flooring for the run I have read sand, dirt, pine shaving. What is best?? I was thinking of using a combo of all 3. Yes/No
2] Ventilation the play house has 4 windows will I need more?
3] Two roosting boxes or one?

For the enclosed run I have a 10x5’ area. It will be up against my green house and all walls will be hardware cloth and I will put a Galvanized sheet roof.
The Run base floor is cement pavers only major predators would be rats/possums and or cats/dogs.
For the Coop its an old playhouse with 4 windows on each side. The front door will be their in and out and I am going to hinge the whole front panel to easy access to clean. The floor will be laminate with pine shavings and I plan on the deep litter method.
I am in California the summers are easily in the hundreds and winters occasionally freezing more the summer heat I worry about. The area will be shaded 3/4th of the day only direct sun early to mid morning.

I have 4 girls ages 3 weeks to 1.5 weeks.

They will free range part of the day when I am outside with them working on my garden.

 

[black_cat]

In the run I have a mulchy thing going on, part dirt and part leaves and sticks and leaf litter and such. That seems like enough ventilation. What do you mean by roosting boxes? Nesting boxes are for laying eggs in and a roost is a long pole or 2x4 that they sleep sitting on.

 

[xtatix]

2 Nesting boxes
I will also have 2 bars but I was referring to the boxes where they lay eggs

 

[rosemarythyme]

1] Depends on how you plan on managing poops. Sand is a good choice in arid climates if you can keep it dry most of the time and scoop poop frequently.
2] It depends. Measure the windows and calculate the total sq ft of ventilation. That's a more relevant number to go by.
3] Two if you have room, just in case you have a broody taking up space in one, someone doesn't want to share, etc.

 

[NatJ]

1] flooring for the run I have read sand, dirt, pine shaving. What is best?? I was thinking of using a combo of all 3.

The Run base floor is cement pavers

Combo would be fine.

If it was me, I'd probably use: a few shovels full of the local dirt, the weeds pulled from the garden, dead leaves in the fall, vegetable peelings from the kitchen, etc. (Basically a compost pile, but the chickens would keep it spread it around and mixed up instead of piled. The dirt would be mostly because chickens seem to like scratching/picking through it.)

I would try to add a bit of material frequently, rather than doing it all at once. It helps keep the chickens from being bored Of course, when lots of material comes available at once--like fall leaves--it makes sense to add lots at once.

It's best if the whole pile stays dry enough it doesn't stink. If it's a little bit damp, bugs and worms may live in it. I think this is good, because the chickens like to scratch for them. And eventually, the material can get shoveled out to fertilize the garden.

Some people use sand in a completely different method: no compost pile in the run, just plain sand and regular poop-scooping. It apparently works well for some people in some climates--but it's not for me, so I can't tell you much about it.

 

[xtatix]

Combo would be fine.

If it was me, I'd probably use: a few shovels full of the local dirt, the weeds pulled from the garden, dead leaves in the fall, vegetable peelings from the kitchen, etc. (Basically a compost pile, but the chickens would keep it spread it around and mixed up instead of piled. The dirt would be mostly because chickens seem to like scratching/picking through it.)

I would try to add a bit of material frequently, rather than doing it all at once. It helps keep the chickens from being bored Of course, when lots of material comes available at once--like fall leaves--it makes sense to add lots at once.

It's best if the whole pile stays dry enough it doesn't stink. If it's a little bit damp, bugs and worms may live in it. I think this is good, because the chickens like to scratch for them. And eventually, the material can get shoveled out to fertilize the garden.

Some people use sand in a completely different method: no compost pile in the run, just plain sand and regular poop-scooping. It apparently works well for some people in some climates--but it's not for me, so I can't tell you much about it.

Thank you!

 

[xtatix]

1] Depends on how you plan on managing poops. Sand is a good choice in arid climates if you can keep it dry most of the time and scoop poop frequently.
2] It depends. Measure the windows and calculate the total sq ft of ventilation. That's a more relevant number to go by.
3] Two if you have room, just in case you have a broody taking up space in one, someone doesn't want to share, etc.

Thank you!

 

[xtatix]

In the run I have a mulchy thing going on, part dirt and part leaves and sticks and leaf litter and such. That seems like enough ventilation. What do you mean by roosting boxes? Nesting boxes are for laying eggs in and a roost is a long pole or 2x4 that they sleep sitting on.

Thank you!