Material inside coop

[Mamato6]

What is your favorite stuff to put on the bottom of the coop. My chicks only spend from about 9pm to 8:30 am in the coop but clearly it stills needs proper maintenance. I was reading about one way someone did theirs and it sounded interesting and I was thinking of trying it. He did a layer of pine shavings, let the birds do their thing on that then sifted diatomaceous earth (food grade of course) on top, then a layer of clean shavings. He said he let the chickens mix it around on their own but he would mix it around occasionally. But he said the DE helps the poop dry faster, keeps mites away and amount of flies down. So what do you think? I was thinking of doing this because I might do it in a day or so because it needs to be mixed add new shavings or empty all together and start fresh real soon anyway. If you do something different what do you do? In the run I leave it as is because it's on natural dirt where there are bugs.

 

[Welshies]

There are many materials available for your coop.
For example:
Shavings (never cedar!)
Sand
Straw
Wood Pellets
Concrete (just bare concrete. Personally I could not find this comfy enough to use.)
Dirt
Fine gravel
Wire
Each has different advantages. Personally, I use a very light layer of pine shavings (about 2-3''). Over time, I add more as it gets soiled enough to demand an extra layer (just enough shavings, not 2-3'' every time.) The chickens naturally scratch and aerate it enough. This is the deep litter method.

 

[Mamato6]

There are many materials available for your coop.
For example:
Shavings (never cedar!)
Sand
Straw
Wood Pellets
Concrete (just bare concrete. Personally I could not find this comfy enough to use.)
Dirt
Fine gravel
Wire
Each has different advantages. Personally, I use a very light layer of pine shavings (about 2-3''). Over time, I add more as it gets soiled enough to demand an extra layer (just enough shavings, not 2-3'' every time.) The chickens naturally scratch and aerate it enough. This is the deep litter method.

Right, that's what he said but he said he adds DE inbetween for the mentioned reasons. I still have the bigger shavings because that was what was recommended when my chicks were born as they could eat and choke on fine shavings. Do you use fine or the bigger stuff?

 

[formerchickenlass]

DE isn't great for birds' lungs. I only use it sparingly as a secondary treatment for mites (in that case I take the bird outside and then rub it into their feathers).

Zeolite is a good addition to bedding to help droppings dry faster. I think Sweet PDZ is one of the brands that you can find at the feed store.

Some just use straight river sand (not play sand) in the coop for dusting and drying those poops. I find it works well as long as it doesn't get wet from water or rain. I live in the PacNW so sand isn't a great option for us. Maybe your locale is more amenable to it.

 

[Mamato6]

DE isn't great for birds' lungs. I only use it sparingly as a secondary treatment for mites (in that case I take the bird outside and then rub it into their feathers).

Zeolite is a good addition to bedding to help droppings dry faster. I think Sweet PDZ is one of the brands that you can find at the feed store.

Some just use straight river sand (not play sand) in the coop for dusting and drying those poops. I find it works well as long as it doesn't get wet from water or rain. I live in the PacNW so sand isn't a great option for us. Maybe your locale is more amenable to it.

I will look for that the next time I go to the feed store. I live in Southern Texas so I'm not sure how accessible river sand is.

 

[formerchickenlass]

I should add that in my own coop I just use shavings. I scoop them out periodically and add all new shavings. I also use a poop board to catch most of the droppings. That is a great thing to have in the coop. You can just scoop that smaller area more frequently. I've used straight shavings there, I've also done sand, and I've done both mixed with the zeolite. Shavings are easy for when I don't want to keep up on it daily, I just get a dustpan and scoop it all up into a bucket, then dump fresh shavings onto the board, usually refreshing once a week.

 

[formerchickenlass]

The river sand is something they have here at our local landscaping materials company. If you have one of those in the area (like the place you can go buy bulk soil and gravel), check there. They may have it shipped in. I think it's something people commonly buy for leveling out under pavers and such.

 

[Mamato6]

I should add that in my own coop I just use shavings. I scoop them out periodically and add all new shavings. I also use a poop board to catch most of the droppings. That is a great thing to have in the coop. You can just scoop that smaller area more frequently. I've used straight shavings there, I've also done sand, and I've done both mixed with the zeolite. Shavings are easy for when I don't want to keep up on it daily, I just get a dustpan and scoop it all up into a bucket, then dump fresh shavings onto the board, usually refreshing once a week.

What is a poop board? Do you make it or buy it somewhere?

The river sand is something they have here at our local landscaping materials company. If you have one of those in the area (like the place you can go buy bulk soil and gravel), check there. They may have it shipped in. I think it's something people commonly buy for leveling out under pavers and such.

We actually have a bulk landscaping materials place right down the street. But here they use what's call base to put under pavers and houses (mainly manufactured homes) but I can check there.

 

[formerchickenlass]

What is a poop board? Do you make it or buy it somewhere?

We actually have a bulk landscaping materials place right down the street. But here they use what's call base to put under pavers and houses (mainly manufactured homes) but I can check there.

This is what it looks like: http://laneforest.com/bulk-rock-and-gravel/river-sand/

And here's a good thread on poop boards:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...s-poop-pictures.621363/page-111#post-13179595

 

[Welshies]

Right, that's what he said but he said he adds DE inbetween for the mentioned reasons. I still have the bigger shavings because that was what was recommended when my chicks were born as they could eat and choke on fine shavings. Do you use fine or the bigger stuff?

I use shavings, not sawdust. Sawdust is very fine.