Ground cover for inside a hen house

[Tamatha18]

I have a hen house that is approximately 7' x 13'. The run/pin is currently about 20' x 14' The hen house has a dirt floor. I have buried hardware cloth and then have a thick layer of Pine shavings on the floor. I was thinking about removing the pine shavings and putting pea gravel down and then covering with a large grit sand. Do I need both (drainage is not an issue but I read something about doing this but of course now I can't find what I read)? Is there something better for the covering for a hen house this size? I have 6 chickens and 2 ducks...for now LOL. TIA!

 

[DobieLover]

I would advise against putting pea gravel down. You will never be able to clean it out. The poop will just filter down through it.
With an earthen floor, have you investigated Deep Litter Method?

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters.

What sort of problem are you having with your shavings that you want a change?

 

[Tamatha18]

I would advise against putting pea gravel down. You will never be able to clean it out. The poop will just filter down through it.
With an earthen floor, have you investigated Deep Litter Method?

I have not heard of the DLM but will read up in it. Thank you!

 

[Tamatha18]

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters.

What sort of problem are you having with your shavings that you want a change?

Poop poop everywhere. I feel like sand would be easier to clean/scoop. I’ve also been researching the wood pellet bedding. My daughter uses that in her bunny’s litter box.

 

[DobieLover]

Poop poop everywhere. I feel like sand would be easier to clean/scoop. I’ve also been researching the wood pellet bedding. My daughter uses that in her bunny’s litter box.

You don't have to clean the poop as frequently if it goes down into organic media and slowly decomposes. Better yet, consider installing poop boards that get scooped every morning. I have that in my coop and it only takes 15 minutes to do my entire morning chore routine including feeding, water, turning out the birds and cleaning the boards. I only clean the bedding out once a year. But this year I'll probably do it again before winter sets in.

 

[Tamatha18]

You don't have to clean the poop as frequently if it goes down into organic media and slowly decomposes. Better yet, consider installing poop boards that get scooped every morning. I have that in my coop and it only takes 15 minutes to do my entire morning chore routine including feeding, water, turning out the birds and cleaning the boards. I only clean the bedding out once a year. But this year I'll probably do it again before winter sets in.
View attachment 3178132

I will see about installing poop boards. However 2 of them roost up in the eaves of the roof.

 

[3KillerBs]

Poop poop everywhere. I feel like sand would be easier to clean/scoop. I’ve also been researching the wood pellet bedding. My daughter uses that in her bunny’s litter box.

You might find my article on Deep Bedding interesting: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

 

[Chinachik]

I keep a small dishpan of sand in my supply cabinet. Seems that the best place to poop is right inside the door. I throw a handful of sand out to cover the poop that is there, it seems to dry it up and they like to scratch in it. I also changed to aspen shavings (Rubet had a reaction to the pine) I will scatter a couple of handfuls around the run. It helps with the smell and dries the poop. I throw my weeds from the garden in and I have a friend who says he uses leaves. This makes it easy to rake if it gets to messy. This kind of like an outdoor deep litter method. I use the aspen in the coop. I take a small rake and stir it up and add a handful or two about once or twice a week. Coop smells decent and it may help with keeping it cooler.

 

[Dakar2009]

For my first ever chicken run I went with straight construction-grade sand (in the cement aisle at home stores). It's easy to rake the dookies out once they dry and the little ones seem to like frollicking in it. That is NOT inside the coop though. I used wood shavings in there for now, same as their brooder. But I have to build a bigger coop soon and may try different materials in there.

I heard pine shavings can hold moisture and parasites/bugs and may not be really ideal for inside the coop, where moisture is the enemy.