is paving/conreting your coop good or bad?

[jamiesc]

I just recently paved my coop because it was that muddy when it rained and it became that slipperly I decided to pave my coop and having second thoughts cause they only get out in the afternoon was paving it a bad idea cause they cant scratch around and dig around?

 

[wolfrosie]

I personally like having a hard surface because it's easier to clean, nicer to walk on for me, as well as the animals, and sometimes you don't always want your chickens feet to be in the mud or muck all of the time. Although sometimes when it rains it gets slippery, I dust the pathways with a little dirt for traction if it looks like they're sliding around too much.
Could you add a sand box? Or just put a lump of dirt in a corner, and then they can have a place to dig and scratch. You could also throw hay or grass clippings in a pile and that will be fun for them to scratch around.

 

[jamiesc]

Aww okay thanks wolfrosie ill upload a picture of my coop and ill put some clippings in tge corner for them

 

[enola]

Are the pavers on the floor inside the coop? If they are you could do deep litter. There are lots of threads on here about how happy chickens are in deep litter!

 

[RJSorensen]

I like a hard floor inside my coops, and at least someplace for them to get to dirt in the run. My chickens always tell me what they want… if I go out and just sit with them, they show me the things they do like, and those they dislike. I have seldom known them to ever be wrong. It might not be that which I wished, but it is always for the best of the flock. It is hard to fight with mother nature.

Best to you and your birds,

RJ

 

[carlsaSC]

I think you are asking whether you should concrete your run, not your coop. I converted a 10' x 15' dog kennel into my chicken coop and run (the coop area is about 5' x 6.5'. the nest boxes are outside off the back of the run). The kennel had a sloped concrete pad. I add leaves in the fall and winter and dried grass clippings in the summer (I really make a crude hay) As the leaves and grass get rained on and pooped on, they get soggy in spite of the slope. I add more leaves or grass to build up the layer of separation from the concrete. The benefits are that no creature can tunnel into the run and that muddiness is correctable. Also, as they scratch, their nails get filed on the concrete surface. Every six months or so, I scrape down to the concrete and have a large quantity of garden additive.