Expanding already

[BigBassLJP]

I originally got 5 chickens from a neighbor and i built a 5x3 coop with a 50-60 sq ft run. Well chick days at TSC came around and now we have 14 more in the broader. I have a limestone driveway that ends under a carport where the current coop is. Since i will be needing alot more space i am thinking about closing in 2/3's of the carport for a open air chicken coop since my new pontoon boat doesnt fit under it anymore. Its kind of perfect. Three of the four sides are already there. Wooden fence on one side, building on the other and a 6'ft chain link in the back. I will try to get a pic added tomorrow. My question is will a crushed lime stone work for the flooring and what type of litter or cleaning would work best. My plan is to fortify the bottom 3' all around with hardware cloth and filling the gap between the cover and the existing sides with chickenwire. There is roughly 2 1/2' gap at the top between the fence and the roof. the building side is protected from floor to ceiling. i already have a 55gallon water tank going to auto cups and DIY PVC feeder to build this weekend. I plan to just add nesting boxes and A-Frame roosts with a "house". I live in Louisiana so no snow here to worry about.

 

[pwiker]

Crushed limestone will be fine for the chickens, but I don't know how you will clean it up. Normally, some sort of hard surface is best with maybe 4-8 inches of shavings or sawdust. This is a deep litter method where each week you scrape off the top inch or so and reveal additional litter. Wood shavings/dust contain a lot of carbon which balances out all of the nitrogen your poop will have in it.

I foresee every shovel full of litter you pick up will have stone in it unless you put down a hard surface.

 

[aart]

My question is will a crushed lime stone work for the flooring and what type of litter or cleaning would work best.

My guess is that it will eventually become saturated with pulverized poops, stink to high heaven in the heat/humidity, and be impossible to really 'clean' without removing the whole lot. Better to get rid of it now, or move the carport to another location.

 

[speckledhen]

I'd imagine that moisture would leach up out of the ground, especially in LA. I had that issue when we put up a 20x24 steel barn on paver base (M10). We originally thought about having that be the floor, but quickly nixed that idea when it stayed damp. We had to put a concrete gutter all the way around the barn to catch whatever ran off the roof, then we built up platform floors on to of a a thick mil plastic laid over the ground.