HELP, please. Concrete floor with topsoil as litter? No roof on end of coop ok??

[Corn Pone Princess]

Where I live we had an old carport/shed with concrete floor on one side. We've built a up with wood scraps we've scavenged and wire cloth I bought with my stimulus and I thought we could just have the concrete floor, no bedding or litter and it'd be easy to pressure wash clean. We have 5 chickens for now. They're almost ready to go in it, but it's not finished.
I'm now really worried it'll be too big or I'll need litter/ floor bedding.
It's large enough for me to walk inside and I plan on having removeable nest boxes and roosts. But now I'm worried about it being too cold or hot ans the concrete possibly hurting their feet and them not being able to enjoy pecking if we are out of town or unable to let them free range or roam our chain link fence area. I just have a lot of stresses and want the chickens to be the happiest and of course me to be the happiest because I will be cleaning and maintaining everything. I'm attaching pictures so you can get an idea of everything. There will be a tiny area where they can get sunshine and more of a breeze that is also part of the concrete but I'm thinking that we scratch that idea and make it a little smaller and only have a smaller space that's more maintainable with litter and such. Please more experienced chicken caretakers please give me all of your information because we are in the process of building it right now and I want to be the best it can be. Pictures attached.
Oh and we might get more chickens to make about 10 in total. And possibly look into hatching our own chicks because I'm certain one is a rooster by how large it is and it's characteristics.... but, I know this coop could hold like a hundred lol
Thanks ♡

 

[rosemarythyme]

What are the actual dimensions of the space? Really no such thing as "too big" - bigger is always better, and with a larger space you can even opt to lock them inside if you have predator issues (or are on vacation), rather than building a separate run.

You may want to rethink your no bedding idea... it's ideal for absorbing poops, to cushion them when the land off the roosts, and for the chickens to scratch through and enjoy. I wouldn't hose out the area to clean it - it may sound easy, but think of all that wet poop sinking into the ground around the enclosure, and how it'll smell...

 

[Corn Pone Princess]

~Passionate noob

What are the actual dimensions of the space? Really no such thing as "too big" - bigger is always better, and with a larger space you can even opt to lock them inside if you have predator issues (or are on vacation), rather than building a separate run.

You may want to rethink your no bedding idea... it's ideal for absorbing poops, to cushion them when the land off the roosts, and for the chickens to scratch through and enjoy. I wouldn't hose out the area to clean it - it may sound easy, but think of all that wet poop sinking into the ground around the enclosure, and how it'll smell...

Thank you.
I wasn't going to build a run. Just there roof of the shed is shorter than the concrete and we wanted to extend the coop out where the concrete ends and have them a small area that's open but secure with sunlight, rain, more airflow, ... no roof. But, idk if that's a good idea. The wire was pretty expensive and I'd hate to tear down what we've put up. So, I think we will keep it this large... just might need a roof added to the end area that's open.
There's also a decent sized storage space with a nice door that locks. I was going to keep that off limits to them and use it for tools n such. At first I thought it would make a nice nest area.
I just wanna get this coop right and I made the mistake of getting chicks before the coop was done. Ugh.

I don't have the dimensions yet, but can get them. We did a little research and are thinking about layering the cement floor with topsoil and figuring out the deep litter method. Also, I wonder if I could grow chicken friendly vegetation inside the coop or maybe a raised box with vegetation. Lord knows I have the room lol

 

[aart]

We did a little research and are thinking about layering the cement floor with topsoil and figuring out the deep litter method. Also, I wonder if I could grow chicken friendly vegetation inside the coop or maybe a raised box with vegetation.

I wouldn't use dirt...nor try to grow anything in there, they'll just tear it up.
Is there nowhere near for a run on concreteless ground?

Think you've got a good start,
might have to observe and adjust as they grow(we all had to do that).

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[rosemarythyme]

I'd scrap the topsoil idea and just go with straight deep litter. Once it starts building up nice and deep that should satisfy the chickens' need to scratch and dig. If you end up getting some compost out of it, scrape that out for a raised bed elsewhere, and just bring trimmings in for the chickens to enjoy.

I wouldn't bother roofing the patch at the end either. Since most of your space is covered, it's nice to give them a little bit of sun, and the chickens will enjoy lying in it from time to time.

 

[Corn Pone Princess]

Thanks.
What's the best way to get deep litter started on concrete?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thanks.
What's the best way to get deep litter started on concrete?

First let me clarify that this won't likely be true deep litter as that really benefits from soil (not top soil, but existing soil with microbes and bugs and worms). And I don't have concrete, I had (at the time) a mud pit!

Best base material is chunky, aged wood chips - if you don't have chips sitting around now, call around to tree companies and see if one will dump a load of chips on your lot somewhere. In my area companies will do it for free, or for maybe a small tip.

On top of that, add whatever organic material you have sitting around. Weeds you've pulled, short grass clippings, overgrowth from your veggie garden, pine needles, etc. I bag leaves in the fall and save them for use in the chicken area for the rest of the year. The materials will break down along with the poop, and that should eat up most of the mess and odor.

 

[Corn Pone Princess]

Ok, thanks.
And I'm just guessing here, but I'd say my dimensions are 7ft wide and probably 40ft long. I'm so stressed it'll be too big...too much to find deep litter for. I read many places that concrete was best and thought for sure I'd made the best choice. We have many critters around here I was afraid would dig under, living right by a creek. Ugh.
I just hope things work out for me ok in the coming months. I really love these chickens. ♡

 

[Corn Pone Princess]

It's maybe even longer than 40ft.
My fiance will KILL me when I tell him I want him to take down all his hard work he's been learning as he goes with scrap wood. Ugh. I feel horrible, but I'll be the one cleaning the coop ... and I need it to be manageable with my back problems arms all. I really thought concrete was easiest to keep clean and safest for them.
Trying to not be too stressed lol

 

[Birdielee]

You chose concrete for a good reason - predators. My hen has the space for supposedly 5 chickens and is unhappy. I don't suppose too big will be a problem in the end. It will just make poop accumulate more slowly in any given area. There's stuff called sweet pdz that may not be practical for the entire coop, but you might like it for the most used area. The poop can be scooped up with anything like a cat litter scoop. I'm using a tool for plaster work. The pdz falls back to the ground.

I'm thinking the sunlight option is very good. And my hen loves digging in the compost pile. Maybe make a scratch area even though you don't want to do litter everywhere.

While they're small, you could limit them with temporary fencing, then let them use the whole area when they are bigger. If you want.

Don't stress too much. And let your fiance's work stay!