Linoleum on floor of new coop-Sliding chickens-BAD! What to do?

[Grace11]

I moved my 20 chickens into their new coop wed nite, laid down a huge amount of dry leaves from last year. (THAT was a mistake for me, I discovered the dust from the leaves left me getting asmatha from it.) Today, I went in with a face cover to get the leaves out and put down straw instead. Either one of the litters had chickens sliding all over the place. This is NOT good. They keep scratching bare places and inevitibly someone jumps/flies off the poop shelf or just getting away from someone harassing them and they go sliding. Somebody is gonna get hurt, either wrenching or breaking a leg or keel.

The coop is 8 X 12, and there will be a pop hole and small fenced area until I get the real fencing in which will be something like 16' X 26'. I will be building this temp fencing in the next few days.

What can I do to fix this? Do I put down another bale of straw? and what do I do with the big poopboard? its got lino on it too and I dont want anyone sliding there either?

This is making me crazy! This coop cost megabucks to build and has been nothing but trouble from the very first. The 6 4X4 posts started twisting after concreteing them in and building started. It was too late to yank it all out and start over, since the walls were started.

 

[Folly's place]

I have no experience with linoleum, but my coop has an old beat up concrete floor that I covered with stall mats from the farm store, and they are great! I use wood shavings with a deep bedding system, and clean it out twice annually. Not slippery or damp, easy to shovel out. The mats were a little pricey, but worth it. Mary

 

[ChickensRDinos]

I also have linoleum on my poop board. I have not noticed a problem but it was old and a bit worn when I put it in, not brand new and shiny. Could you maybe sand it a bit to rough it up so it less slick?

Are they sliding on the linoleum itself or the straw is sliding on the linoleum - if it's the straw maybe don't put any materials on the poop board other than the linoleum?

 

[Grace11]

Stall mats might be alright, I'll have to see how much they cost, since the coop has me broke. I might find something else that would work that is cheaper....

I am not at all sure if they are sliding on the straw or the lino, I just assumed the lino was the culprit. I will pay attention tomorrow.

This is the whole coop floor covered with linoleum along with the poop board under the roost. the walls are covered also to make for easier cleaning. I was going to put sweet PDZ on the poop board but have to wait for money to get it, but its like little rocks so I dont know if they will slide on it or not or just kick it all over and so its kinda useless. I do see I have to stick a wider board across the very edge of the poop board just to keep the stuff in there and chickens maybe not so likely to go sliding off the edge.

Its always something.....

Thanks, now I have options I didnt have before!

 

[DMRippy]

Well a cheap fix might be some shelf liner. I use that in brooders to keep the chicks from getting splayed legs. I get it from one of those dollar type stores.

 

[CluckyCharms]

I also have linoleum on my poop board. I have not noticed a problem but it was old and a bit worn when I put it in, not brand new and shiny. Could you maybe sand it a bit to rough it up so it less slick?

Are they sliding on the linoleum itself or the straw is sliding on the linoleum - if it's the straw maybe don't put any materials on the poop board other than the linoleum?

I think the sanding of the linoleum sounds like a good idea and it would provide them with (some) traction.

I'm sorry you're having a rough time with your coop though - sometimes our best laid plans don't always turn out the way we'd like. I would start singing "....the sun'll come out, tomorrow..." or tell you "this too shall pass", but I don't want a ball of leaves, hay and chicken poop thrown at me. Soooo I will just say that I hope something works out for you and you don't have to put forth too much effort beyond all the things you've already done.

 

[KDK1]

That is precisely why I don't use vinyl flooring. The best and cheapest way out for you now would probably put about 6" of sand in the coop.

 

[kellieetal]

How wide is the board that edges your poop deck? I don't have my chickens or coop yet, so I'm hoping to learn from everyone else's mistakes and discoveries before I build my own. I don't mean to laugh at anyone's troubles, but laughing my head off at the mental image of chickens sliding across the floor, one after another, feathers flying...seems like something you'd see on old Tom and Jerry cartoons.

 

[Grace11]

How wide is the board that edges your poop deck? I don't have my chickens or coop yet, so I'm hoping to learn from everyone else's mistakes and discoveries before I build my own. I don't mean to laugh at anyone's troubles, but laughing my head off at the mental image of chickens sliding across the floor, one after another, feathers flying...seems like something you'd see on old Tom and Jerry cartoons.

Its presently a 1X2, the guy whos building it did it when I wasnt home so he couldnt have known I wanted something a bit bigger for that edge. I think a 1X3 would work fine. I just worry someones gonna get pushed off the poop deck and get hurt if they cant recover themselves in time- i think somethig a bit taller would be better right there. Im just gonna screw it to the 1X2.

The guy also had ripped some of the wall lino when he was making the door in there. I told him that the chickens will have that lino down in no time because if theres an edge they can grab they'll pick at it and he thought I was nuts. the very 1st DAY, I came home and found about 1.5 foot square missing. I just took one of the lids from the nest boxes I made out of plastic bins, cut off the curved part and nailed it to the wall. I cannot figure out where the lino pieces went to, couldnt find any pieces in the litter. But now my coop has been redecorated. By chickens.

I have spread some sand all over the floor and its helping but not all the time. More sand is coming.... dang.

 

[ivan3]

Our turkey shed is 7'x8' with congoleum remnant over base of flooring. Same problem on a larger scale, i.e., fly off of roost, hit straw and slide out of door, to run, on butts lubricated by straw. We placed a length of 1"x2", as a sand stop, across width of shed at the entry, poured on the sand (about 2" total over entire floor) and then added straw and wood chips. This worked so well that the chicken coop got the same treatment; fat production Sex Links prefer to hop down from the low roosts and the bedding/sand makes it easier on their undercarriages when they `land'. We remove waste daily (lots of berry patches to feed). Spring/fall total clean-outs are easier with the congoleum - just unscrew/remove the 1"x2"s and push all the old sand out into run after raking out all the bedding for compost pile.

We used the congoleum as an impermeable barrier over the treated 1" plywood (lots of wood borers/wood ants here in the woods - `untreated' is a `treat' ).

Hope this works out for you, as well.