Interior Coop Pics

[kacklinkelly]

Beginner Chick - Your coop looks like it could double for guest quarters.
AMAZING. (am not letting my girls see it)

 

[Judy]

I agree this post should be sticky. It would probably answer most newbie questions.

It is already a sticky.

 

[Egrant97]

I see almost everyone has shavings on the floor? How often do you have to replace all the shavings? it seems like a whole lot of shavings to be changing out weekly...

 

[bribre]

Just marking my place. Love the coops everyone!!

Bre

 

[MIKE555444]

I see almost everyone has shavings on the floor? How often do you have to replace all the shavings? it seems like a whole lot of shavings to be changing out weekly...

Most people put the shavings in deep.... that allows it to be work almost like cat litter being turn over and over. If done properly and with the correct amount of birds it should only need changed out 2 - 3 times a year

 

[diggergal]

When I first got my chickens three years ago I changed my shavings weekly and spent alot of money $$$. Now I add a little DE to the shavings and clean out the coop floor 3 or 4 times a year. I do have a poop board that catches the most of the poop. I was just over zealous the first year and wasted a lot of money.

 

[Costa Rica Art]

This man has written for BYC and Mother Earth News, here is some of what he has to say.
The Small-Scale Poultry Flock: An All-Natural Approach to Raising Chickens and Other Fowl for Home and Market Growers
by Harvey Ussery

If you plan to build a new structure in which to house your birds, I strongly recommend that you keep an earth floor in the building, and cover it with a thick layer of high-carbon litter such as oak leaves, wood shavings, etc. (I do not think straw is a good litter material over earth floor, as it can support the growth of molds which can be a respiratory problem for the birds.) The constant scratching of the chickens incorporates the droppings into the litter, preventing the typical "caking" of manure which results in foul odors, flies, and possible buildup of pathogens. The constant mixing of the manure with the high-carbon litter results in a decomposition process similar to that in a compost pile. The billions of microorganisms driving this decomposition actually produce Vitamins K and B12, various natural antibiotics, and other immune-enhancing substances which the chickens ingest while scratching for and eating tiny critters in the litter. A study in the Ohio state university system in the 1920's demonstrated that chickens could obtain 100% of their protein from a mature 12-inch litter. You can periodically (say once a year) remove the litter and use it as compost without further processing.
If you have to use an existing building with a wood floor, that's okay. Here, too, you should lay down a thick layer of dry, high-carbon litter. (In this case, where the litter remains dry, a straw litter is okay.) Your poultry house will be far more pleasant for you and more healthful for the chickens. When you remove a mix of litter and manure from a structure with a wooden floor, you should compost it before adding it to the garden.

His method has worked very well for me even when I had a way over crowded coop, over 40 birds in and 10X10 coop (processed some 20 and gave away several). Even here in the temperate tropics I do not have a bad smell problem nor have I lost a chicken to sickness in 3 years.

 

[Timskins]

So is a depth of 12 inches about what everyone is putting down?

 

[Costa Rica Art]

So is a depth of 12 inches about what everyone is putting down?

Oops, I forgot to tell you that I try to keep something like 8"+ of wood shavings. As it breaks down I add more plus the chickens like to dust themselves when I add Cal-Dolomita which of course is right in front of the door where the sun shines in, a lot of the shavings end up out the door. No problem, I just add more inside the coop.

 

[diggergal]

So is a depth of 12 inches about what everyone is putting down?

I have a tile floor in my coop and after a good cleaning I initially put down about 4-6 inches of shavings sprinkled with a little DE to help keep it dry. Then as the shavings breakdown or when it seems to need freshened up I put in another two or so inches of shavings. Then every three to five months, depending on the season I totally clean the shavings out and start over again.