How much bedding do you need?

[CrystalAnon]

when it comes to bedding in the egg laying area, I find that less is better. i give them maybe 2 inches of bedding max in there. I used to really poof it up, thinking it'd be comfortable for them with a deep bed for egg laying. They didn't like it as much and Id find eggs down in the poop area and other areas as they moved elsewhere to lay. keeping it fairly low in there kept them happy.

Just my observations

Aaron

That is great! Thanks for sharing. I’ll certainly keep that in mind when our girls get old enough to start laying. Can’t wait!!

 

[3KillerBs]

One question I would have with that, do you ever find any issues with dust, with the paper shreds?

Chicken coop dust mostly comes from the chickens themselves -- it's mainly feather dander.

Excellent ventilation is one of the best means to limit dust build-up.

We’re in Central Florida. I wonder if the deep litter method would be okay for warm weather too.

Deep Litter and Deep Bedding work in any climate, though the moist, Deep Litter system composts faster in warm climates.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

 

[CrystalAnon]

Chicken coop dust mostly comes from the chickens themselves -- it's mainly feather dander.

Excellent ventilation is one of the best means to limit dust build-up.



Deep Litter and Deep Bedding work in any climate, though the moist, Deep Litter system composts faster in warm climates.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

Thank you for the info!

 

[Ascholten]

is your coop going to be a closed bottom, or open, as in it's just sitting on the ground and they can scratch around etc. If it's open, they will dig, and it will compost fairly quick. If it's closed it will still compost, not as fast as open, they can't dig because the bottom is closed but they WILL scratch-throw the stuff all over the place, out the door, into the next area etc. They do this often in the morning, looking for bugs etc first thing when they wake up.

The close bottom, it will remain drier for the most part, and WILL still compost, you will have a layer on the bottom that looks like dirt really, made up of crumbled this, that, composted, this, you get the idea. Occasionally I'll scrape mine out with a dust pan just to give them more of a shaving bottom and less 'dusty' poopowder. This stuff also makes an outstanding ground cover around plants too as well.

Aaron

 

[CrystalAnon]

is your coop going to be a closed bottom, or open, as in it's just sitting on the ground and they can scratch around etc. If it's open, they will dig, and it will compost fairly quick. If it's closed it will still compost, not as fast as open, they can't dig because the bottom is closed but they WILL scratch-throw the stuff all over the place, out the door, into the next area etc. They do this often in the morning, looking for bugs etc first thing when they wake up.

The close bottom, it will remain drier for the most part, and WILL still compost, you will have a layer on the bottom that looks like dirt really, made up of crumbled this, that, composted, this, you get the idea. Occasionally I'll scrape mine out with a dust pan just to give them more of a shaving bottom and less 'dusty' poopowder. This stuff also makes an outstanding ground cover around plants too as well.

Aaron

Our coop & run are both open. All is directly on the sandy dirt.
My husband wanted to put hardware cloth down on the ground inside the coop & cover it with dirt & bedding, but I opted for a skirt around the outside of the coop with hardware cloth, for digging predators. I didn’t want the hardware cloth on the ground to impede their scratching.
Do you think that’s a good idea, to opt for the skirt? Or would hardware cloth on the ground not be the problem I’m envisioning?
Thanks for your reply!

 

[aart]

Do you think that’s a good idea, to opt for the skirt?

Yes!

I didn’t want the hardware cloth on the ground to impede their scratching.

...or injure feet.

 

[Ascholten]

The skirt absolutely. The hardware cloth, they don't know what it is, and will dig anyways, and possibly hang up a toe and hurt themselves. Not to mention the poop and stuff will just get hung up in it as well, clog it and make a nasty mess that you won't be able to 'fix' as easily as you'd be able to with just bare ground to shovel off of.

The sandy dirt is fine. but ONE THING. You live in Florida, howdy neighbor!

The physical location of the coop, and the overall slope off the ground. It NEEDS to be higher or at the very minimum even with everything else. When you get that 3 pm gully whumper that rolls in and dumps 2 inches of rain in 30 minutes, it needs to be able to run off and not sit there and turn the coop into a cesspool. How good does your sand drain? Being central, Im going to say you got a lot of silt in it too, and it may like to just hang out and not so much drain off.

with this in mind, maybe some sort of French drain setup or something to bring water OUT of the coop might be a good idea. Just some things to think about.

Aaron

 

[CrystalAnon]

Yes!


...or injure feet.

Yes! Exactly what I was thinking. It hurt my fingers pretty good… almost like bruising on my finger pads… just when I was working with it to get it tight over the cattle panels for the hoop run! I couldn’t wear gloves because I had to get a good grip on it & I couldn’t with 1/2”x1/2” holes in the hardware cloth.
I can’t imagine wanting to try & scratch on a surface like that. Or walk all day on it.
Thank you!

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Yes!


...or injure feet.

My chicken ripped her comb 95% off on hardware cloth!

 

[CrystalAnon]

The skirt absolutely. The hardware cloth, they don't know what it is, and will dig anyways, and possibly hang up a toe and hurt themselves. Not to mention the poop and stuff will just get hung up in it as well, clog it and make a nasty mess that you won't be able to 'fix' as easily as you'd be able to with just bare ground to shovel off of.

The sandy dirt is fine. but ONE THING. You live in Florida, howdy neighbor!

The physical location of the coop, and the overall slope off the ground. It NEEDS to be higher or at the very minimum even with everything else. When you get that 3 pm gully whumper that rolls in and dumps 2 inches of rain in 30 minutes, it needs to be able to run off and not sit there and turn the coop into a cesspool. How good does your sand drain? Being central, Im going to say you got a lot of silt in it too, and it may like to just hang out and not so much drain off.

with this in mind, maybe some sort of French drain setup or something to bring water OUT of the coop might be a good idea. Just some things to think about.

Aaron

Thank you Aaron!
We’re definitely going with the skirt. Good point about being able to clean under that hardware cloth too! That was one aspect I hadn’t thought of. I was mostly concerned about it hurting them physically. I’ll make sure my husband thinks of that issue too, if he wants to bring it up again.
Howdy neighbor!
We have a slight incline, where the coop & run is, so I think the rain will run off quite well. We had a good downpour last night & the coop stayed very dry. I try & monitor that, anytime it rains. Rather know before the gals move in.
And yes, it does drain rather well. Not great… we do still get puddles in the yard when it’s coming down that hard for an extended period of time, but nothing too crazy. We are not in a flood zone, so that certainly helps. We’re at 142’ elevation here. So we’re basically on a mountain, in Florida terms!
Out of curiosity, what is a “French drain setup”? I’ll look it up, but thought I’d ask what you mean by that.
Thank you so much for your input! It’s nice to be speaking with a fellow Floridian here. We moved across country from California in August, so we’re still learning the ways of Florida. But we both feel this was one of the best decisions we’ve made in the whole of our adult lives. Besides our marriage, of course!