Help! I'm a newbie

[itsmedebbie1]

Just starting out. We have 5 hens and 1 rooster (by mistake. We purchased the Ware Chick n Hutch Run and Coop with roosting bar. We live on 5 acres and so predators (and our dog) are a real concern. We put down hardware cloth all around the outside to help with that. Can someone please explain to me the process for bedding, shavings on the bottom vs. just the wire etc... and just basic maintenance from here. There is poop everywhere and it is beginning to stink, so I need we need to put something down but I'm just not sure what and how it works. Thanks!

 

[graciesmum]

I use sand, sand is good for keeping poop dry and is good drainage, also it is easier to clean, all you do is rake over and collect the the poop, it is great in the run and coop, keep it cleaner and fresher

 

[Homestead girl]

Just starting out. We have 5 hens and 1 rooster (by mistake. We purchased the Ware Chick n Hutch Run and Coop with roosting bar. We live on 5 acres and so predators (and our dog) are a real concern. We put down hardware cloth all around the outside to help with that. Can someone please explain to me the process for bedding, shavings on the bottom vs. just the wire etc... and just basic maintenance from here. There is poop everywhere and it is beginning to stink, so I need we need to put something down but I'm just not sure what and how it works. Thanks!

I live in North Georgia, I have a 12 x 24 open air coop. I have 29 chickens. I am new at this also. It is not that hard believe me once you get over the fear of messing up. Trial and error just get used to that one. But I use pine shavings in the bag right now. We will be getting a truck load of it soon.
I also have started fermenting my feed and that has gotten rid of the smell of the poop, and the poop is more solid and firm.
I also put them in a dusting box with ash from our lump charcoal grill if you have a fire pit that ash works good also. I add a little builders sand in with the ash and a couple of cups of the DE. They love taking a dust bath.
I also have two five gallon buckets that have water nipples on the bottom, So the water stays clean and I don't have to change it everyday.
But back to the litter I like to use the shavings. and I also have started raking up dry leaves from the woods and putting them into the coop . They love that and it helps keep the coop and poop in check. I haven't cleaned out my coop in over 3 weeks.
I am also starting to using the deep litter method. This way I don't have to clean out my coop but once a year. I can already tell the difference in the smell of the coop there isn't one . Just good chicken smell..

Also go to the learning section on this site and type in what you want to know . I have learned a lot that way.

Good luck with you new adventure.....

 

[LoneOak]

Wheat straw works real good for a deep litter system. Like the post above I don't do a complete cleaning except once a year. I do on occassion just rake a little out and add new. It is cheaper than bagged pine shavings so I had to go that way. You can get your birds to stir the straw up every couple weeks by throwing a little scratch feed on the top, they will eat what they can get to easily and scratch and stir the rest looking for the last little bite. The straw I get at my local hardware store works much better than what I got at the Big Orange box home improvement store. Something about the texture of the straw and how it was gathered before it was balled, it might have been a little wet when they balled it, look at it before you buy it.

The used wheat straw goes in the compost pile and quickly decomposes. Next spring it will go in the garden spot and get turned in before anything gets planted. I have gotten a little lazy lately and have just been putting the straw on the side of the garden spot and pulling a little in everytime I hoe or rack out the weeds.

 

[Homestead girl]

Wheat straw works real good for a deep litter system. Like the post above I don't do a complete cleaning except once a year. I do on occassion just rake a little out and add new. It is cheaper than bagged pine shavings so I had to go that way. You can get your birds to stir the straw up every couple weeks by throwing a little scratch feed on the top, they will eat what they can get to easily and scratch and stir the rest looking for the last little bite. The straw I get at my local hardware store works much better than what I got at the Big Orange box home improvement store. Something about the texture of the straw and how it was gathered before it was balled, it might have been a little wet when they balled it, look at it before you buy it.

The used wheat straw goes in the compost pile and quickly decomposes. Next spring it will go in the garden spot and get turned in before anything gets planted. I have gotten a little lazy lately and have just been putting the straw on the side of the garden spot and pulling a little in everytime I hoe or rack out the weeds.

Hey LoneOak,
So you are in West Atlanta , I am in Jasper, We are almost neighbors

.
So you use Wheat Straw , You don't have a problem with it getting mold and smelling ? Just wondering cause I have just read not to use it for that reason. I am interested to know is your coop closed or open air like mine ? I do not have any closed sides on my coop. I do get a small amount of rain if the wind blows real hard while raining and the edges of the coop get a little wet.
I am always looking for way's to save money that's for sure.
Sounds like a great idea there is a lot more straw in a bale than there is pine shavings in a bag.

 

[LoneOak]

Hey LoneOak,
So you are in West Atlanta , I am in Jasper, We are almost neighbors

.

This is my coop, it was built back in the 50s and started life as a chicken coop then got turned into a dog kennel and I brought it back to a chicken coop about 10 years ago.





These pictures are from back in 04 or 05 I'm not sure, Simba is no longer with us, she took real good care of the chickens. There are a row of windows across the front under the roof overhang, you can't see them in either picture. I have never had the wheat straw get moldy and smelly. I can't smell real well so it might bother some folks more than it does me but noone has ever told me that it stinks. I do add enough straw and keep it stirred up so it doesn't get packed in and clumpy. try to keep it a little loose and airy. My coop doesn't have a lot of windows but no way is it tight and plenty of air circulates and keeps the smell down. If you go with the deep litter system don't put any DE in the straw as it will kill some of the good bacteria needed to make it work right, if your birds can go outside they probably don't need it anyway.

Come visit the LoneOak Terrace sometime, visitors are always welcome at the Terrace!

 

[Homestead girl]

This is my coop, it was built back in the 50s and started life as a chicken coop then got turned into a dog kennel and I brought it back to a chicken coop about 10 years ago.





These pictures are from back in 04 or 05 I'm not sure, Simba is no longer with us, she took real good care of the chickens. There are a row of windows across the front under the roof overhang, you can't see them in either picture. I have never had the wheat straw get moldy and smelly. I can't smell real well so it might bother some folks more than it does me but noone has ever told me that it stinks. I do add enough straw and keep it stirred up so it doesn't get packed in and clumpy. try to keep it a little loose and airy. My coop doesn't have a lot of windows but no way is it tight and plenty of air circulates and keeps the smell down. If you go with the deep litter system don't put any DE in the straw as it will kill some of the good bacteria needed to make it work right, if your birds can go outside they probably don't need it anyway.

Come visit the LoneOak Terrace sometime, visitors are always welcome at the Terrace!

Very nice set up you have. It looks like it is up here in the mountains.
I made the mistake of putting DE down on the ground in my coop a few weeks back . I am working on getting the good bacteria back in my coop to get the deep litter started. I have started working on it this past week , and so far so good,
I guess it is trial and error as you are learning. My neighbor down the road a couple miles , he is in his seventies and he does the deep litter method. Funny when I asked him about his deep litter method he gave me the funniest look. I told him that is what they call it now a day's , he just nodded and smiled. Then told me how he does his chickens. Gotta love the old farmer's lot's of information there.
So just what is the LoneOak Terrace ? ? ?

 

[LoneOak]

So just what is the LoneOak Terrace ? ? ?

The LoneOak Terrace is my home and little farm. The house was built in 1935 and many homes were named back then. it was much bigger back in the old days and the terraced land stretched for a couple miles in front of the house. The original farm was just 15 acres and portions have been sold off and given to decendents, I have the last 2 acres of the original place. The man that built my house owned an outdoor advertising sign business and painted this sign and hung it over the front door just after he built the house.

Very old digital picture.

The sign wasn't here when I moved in in 96 and after a couple years talking with the old neighbors and family I found the sign and returned it to its original location. The hooks were still in the overhang but someone along the way had removed the sign and stored it in one of the relatives basement. It came home to where it belongs and will be here for as long as I am alive!!!!