I just got my first chicken ever yesterday and I think I need some changes to my coop.

[SoothingSunlight]

Hello people, I'm completely new to this, have no idea what I'm doing and could use a little help if it's no problem to ask.
I have 8 hens and 1 rooster.
The floor of my coop is plywood nailed on top of pallets. Seemed like a great and simple idea, until I had to clean out all the poop with newspapers. (and there was a lot of it!) Is this something I would have to do every day? Should I put some dirt/hay on top of it?
There has to be a solution to this, if someone could tell me I would really appreciate it.
They also don't seem to like their nest and just decided to lay an egg in the middle of the coop.

Here are some pictures, please let me know if you see anything I can do to improve it! Thanks everyone in advance!

 

[rosemarythyme]

You need some sort of litter... that's how you manage poop. Something that'll catch the poop and protect the floor (which by the way should be painted or cover in some way to protect it from moisture - just having the water there + poop is going to destroy it pretty fast). It needs to be cleaned out by the time it gets soiled enough to be smelly. To help prolong the life of the bedding, you can spot clean it daily.

You also should have litter to provide some cushioning when chickens come off the roost, though your roost is fairly low.

Is that black box the nest? What's the wire basket in upper right, first photo? Fake eggs in the nest can help clue them in that that's a good spot to lay.

 

[Flockincrazy]

Hello people, I'm completely new to this, have no idea what I'm doing and could use a little help if it's no problem to ask.
I have 8 hens and 1 rooster.
The floor of my coop is plywood nailed on top of pallets. Seemed like a great and simple idea, until I had to clean out all the poop with newspapers. (and there was a lot of it!) Is this something I would have to do every day? Should I put some dirt/hay on top of it?
There has to be a solution to this, if someone could tell me I would really appreciate it.
They also don't seem to like their nest and just decided to lay an egg in the middle of the coop.

Here are some pictures, please let me know if you see anything I can do to improve it! Thanks everyone in advance!
View attachment 2177662View attachment 2177663

K so first that is partical board not plywood and sorry to say is gonna be a pain to clean and keep the smell down cause it is porous is the box with straw in it there nestbox for that many you'll need 4 nestboxes that is why they layed an egg on the floor someone was probably already there perches are great sorry to sound so critical

 

[Flockincrazy]

These are mine I have a lot of hens and I did one high and one low cause I have chickens duck's turkey's and soon geese

 

[SoothingSunlight]

You need some sort of litter... that's how you manage poop. Something that'll catch the poop and protect the floor (which by the way should be painted or cover in some way to protect it from moisture - just having the water there + poop is going to destroy it pretty fast). It needs to be cleaned out by the time it gets soiled enough to be smelly. To help prolong the life of the bedding, you can spot clean it daily.

You also should have litter to provide some cushioning when chickens come off the roost, though your roost is fairly low.

Is that black box the nest? What's the wire basket in upper right, first photo? Fake eggs in the nest can help clue them in that that's a good spot to lay.

Hi, thanks for the reply. The wire basket will be filled made into another nest. I don't know if they like to be up there or down on the floor, so I did both. It will be painted and whitewashed in a few days. How do I need to set up the litter? Designate a corner, fill it with hay or something and they will learn to poop there?

 

[Skyleen13]

My suggestion is to get some cheep vinyl or linoleum flooring & cover the particle board up with that. They top with bedding & it makes for an easy clean up. You can get a small amount. I use it in my coop. Makes clean up faster & easier.

 

[Ribh]

Agree you need more nesting boxes, even though some hens will share. I would also probably move them to the darker, more secluded side of your coop. If that is partical board, not plywood, it won't last long either. Marine ply, which is what I have, is water proofed & sturdy but I put sugar cane mulch or hemp bedding down to absorb moisture. Chooks poop a LOT!! If you waterproof your floor you can deep litter & it doesn't have to be cleaned every day. I do clean every other day in summer to keep the flies down but during the winter months I let the litter build up for that little bit of extra warmth it provides ~ but I have a very open coop, being sub~tropical, & bad odours are not usually a problem.

 

[Skyleen13]

Hi, thanks for the reply. The wire basket will be filled made into another nest. I don't know if they like to be up there or down on the floor, so I did both. It will be painted and whitewashed in a few days. How do I need to set up the litter? Designate a corner, fill it with hay or something and they will learn to poop there?

No. Cover the entire floor with it.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Hi, thanks for the reply. The wire basket will be filled made into another nest. I don't know if they like to be up there or down on the floor, so I did both. It will be painted and whitewashed in a few days. How do I need to set up the litter? Designate a corner, fill it with hay or something and they will learn to poop there?

Only issue with having one nest up high is you might get some chickens sleeping in it.

Litter should cover the entire floor. Chickens do not learn to poop in one spot, they can and will poop wherever they want, whenever they want. I use wood chips, as seen below, thick enough that you can't see the floor is black just like the side beams.

 

[mapurcel]

Make sure the nesting boxes give the girls some privacy. A nice solid walled box with a roof off the ground (you don’t want them to get in the habit).
I’ve used hay in the past for litter on my coop’s floor. Luckily most feed stores sell odor neutralizing and safe products for chickens. Some prefer pine shavings!