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Floor Recommendations?

Discussion in 'Coop & Run - Design, Construction, & Maintenance' started by braggsrus, Apr 21, 2009.

Most Liked Posts
  1. Apr 21, 2009 #1
    braggsrus

    braggsrus Out Of The Brooder

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    We are setting up our first coop which is a lean-to with a dirt floor. Do you have any recommendations for any beneficial "floor dressing" (wood chips, etc.) that will help with waste / odor / whatever? Or is the dirt floor just fine? We have about 100 square feet and are planning on 12 laying hens (no rooster).

    Thanks.
    BrU
     
  3. Apr 21, 2009 #2
    Bluemoon420

    Bluemoon420 The Rooster Queen

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    We have a dirt floor in ours. You can kinda see what we did here..

    https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=167161

    I plan on doing the deep litter method with pine shavings. The results of that go into my garden for fertilizer.

    I believe it breaks down faster with a dirt floor. We shall see..

    Bluemoon
     
  5. Apr 21, 2009 #3
    patandchickens

    patandchickens Flock Mistress

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    Ontario, Canada
    Well, you'll want bedding on that dirt floor. Pine/softwood shavings (sold in big bales at feedstore for animal bedding) are preferred by many people including me; or there are lots of other things that can be used.

    As far as how much bedding to put in and how often (and how) to clean, that's seriously a matter of personal style, you'll just have to experiment a bit and see what you can settle on that you're happy with [​IMG]

    good luck, have fun,

    Pat
     
  7. Apr 21, 2009 #4
    SoJoChickens

    SoJoChickens Chillin' With My Peeps

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    On a recommendation from geareduplyn on this forum, I have been looking at pine pellets (the kind they use for horse stalls). I will now be switching to pine pellets due to better absorbtion and odor control. Geareduplyn also indicated that the pellets are better for impaction avoidance.
     

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