Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[aart]

I've got a contiguous sheet of foam backed vinyl, over HC on plywood coop floor.
The floor is insulated underneath, with probably 6" of what I don't know, and is also 12-30" above grade.
Have roost boards with PDZ and pine shavings on floor, shavings are about 2" deep in summer and maybe 6-8" deep in winter.
I figure dry and ammonia free is good and they nestle down in the floor shavings to nap on those frigid 'stay inside' winter days.
I push the shavings back, and they scratch down, to the vinyl when I walk in to feed and clean boards, so it's stays stirred up and spread out.
Going to horizontal nipples in a jug with heater, I hope, for water this winter...and am working on a no-bill feeder as a lot of crumble ends up in the shavings.
Babblebabbleblahblah...lots of ways to house chickens.

Sure wish I could get those 'used' shavings to break down into dirt faster tho, I totally change out shavings spring and fall.

 

[ladyrsanti]

I haven't changed the litter in my 12' x 22' coop since I built it last fall. There's about 8" of straw on relatively dry dirt floor. There is a poop board so not an overabundance of green material in the bedding to compost efficiently. I would not expect significant heat in mine. I do indiscriminately throw scraps in that they often don't eat (tomato skins, corn cobs, onions, kale stems, etc) but it's not enough for the size of the coop to get things moving on a large scale - just pockets of breakdown. Everyday I throw scratch all over the floor and let them do the turning. It's working for me. I keep all serious composting action outside of the coop to minimize moisture but still allow them to benefit from foraging in compost (they completely devoured the contents of my compost tumbler this summer like it was candy!)

You can see it breaks down without composting (dry stuff)


and with a fresh layer of straw and corn cobs that will stay there until I clean it out next spring.



ETA: I did much more deep litter composting in my old coop with the concrete floor. It held so much moisture that it was unavoidable.

 

[mrcush]

Found the pic; was actually under my profile since I posted it last October. Mind you, the birds had been laying since July & this cutie still showed up!

It's so cute!

 

[chickflick]

I clean out the coop almost every day. Under the roosts and I stir the rest of it to expose other poop. Can't stand the look of a dirty coop. Just me. OCD lol
Had two old hens die last night. Weird that they died together. Think they were about 7 years old. Not sick or anything. But noticed they were not as active. Laying around a lot more. They had a good life. Spoiled and loved. I knew the buff was just about to go so I sat with her and talked to her and gave her a big hug. Wish I would have given Molly a hug, too.
bigmrg... I got a mini aussie for my daughter last year. Awesome dog. Loves playing frisbee.

 

[tntchix]

I do deep litter method in both coop and run. I am just turning over every week or so just to keep things mixed up. I thought it would smell more. I put an elastomeric roof coating on plywood to waterproof floor. LOVE it. I have an 8-12" bed of pine shavings and I throw scratch in there to get them turning it. I also do periodic spot clean when I empty nest boxes, the rest of shavings goes on floor. Easy peasy. I plan complete cleanouts in spring and fall as needed.As for a heat source, I think it keeps it cozy but I'm not sure how much warmer.

Thankfully, the run is where the odor is and even that isn't bad. Rain runoff and grass clippings keeps it mixed up out there too. More like compost. I stopped using straw as I was worried about mites and didn't want that to add to the stress of having a jerk of a roo also. (Yes, I still have Loudmouth, the Sebright bantam. Anyone want him?) They dig and dig all day long so it's always moving in there and there must be some decomp going on cuz we have never really had worms over by the barn like we do now.

Chickening is such an adventure. We are already planning the expansion for spring.

 

[1muttsfan]

If you want to prevent drafts under an elevated coop, you could place straw bales around the outside bottom. I would not pack material up under a wood floor, it needs air to keep from rotting.

 

[SillyChicken]

I haven't changed the litter in my 12' x 22' coop since I built it last fall. There's about 8" of straw on relatively dry dirt floor. There is a poop board so not an overabundance of green material in the bedding to compost efficiently. I would not expect significant heat in mine. I do indiscriminately throw scraps in that they often don't eat (tomato skins, corn cobs, onions, kale stems, etc) but it's not enough for the size of the coop to get things moving on a large scale - just pockets of breakdown. Everyday I throw scratch all over the floor and let them do the turning. It's working for me. I keep all serious composting action outside of the coop to minimize moisture but still allow them to benefit from foraging in compost (they completely devoured the contents of my compost tumbler this summer like it was candy!)

You can see it breaks down without composting (dry stuff)


and with a fresh layer of straw and corn cobs that will stay there until I clean it out next spring.



ETA: I did much more deep litter composting in my old coop with the concrete floor. It held so much moisture that it was unavoidable.

Well, yeah, you can get away with that because you have an awesome coop...lol.... I have to clean my small coops out every few weeks to keep ammonia down (mine have linoleum on the floor). I admit I have a few too many birds in my coop. was to be only two in the one, but because the predator tried to clean me out, I had to house them all. Since I've sent the turkeys to freezer camp, I have a place to move my birds too.. I'm just Leary cause it's not got a covered run.

 

[ladyrsanti]

Poppy is doing pretty well. I've still got her in quarantine but the scabs are looking like they might start falling off any day now. The swelling has gone down a bit too. She even laid an egg yesterday, the first in well over a week. No other chickens have shown signs of it thus far but it's such a slow spreading disease that it could still pop up. The bad news... one of my turkeys has it too (they live in a separate coop but the one that got it is also the one who slept on the roof, more prone to mosquitoes so I'm not at all surprised). They're big enough to slaughter though so I may just do them in before it takes over. As soon as I figure out a way to scald them that is...

 

[snowflake]

I haven't changed the litter in my 12' x 22' coop since I built it last fall. There's about 8" of straw on relatively dry dirt floor. There is a poop board so not an overabundance of green material in the bedding to compost efficiently. I would not expect significant heat in mine. I do indiscriminately throw scraps in that they often don't eat (tomato skins, corn cobs, onions, kale stems, etc) but it's not enough for the size of the coop to get things moving on a large scale - just pockets of breakdown. Everyday I throw scratch all over the floor and let them do the turning. It's working for me. I keep all serious composting action outside of the coop to minimize moisture but still allow them to benefit from foraging in compost (they completely devoured the contents of my compost tumbler this summer like it was candy!)

You can see it breaks down without composting (dry stuff)


and with a fresh layer of straw and corn cobs that will stay there until I clean it out next spring.



ETA: I did much more deep litter composting in my old coop with the concrete floor. It held so much moisture that it was unavoidable.

I've got a contiguous sheet of foam backed vinyl, over HC on plywood coop floor.
The floor is insulated underneath, with probably 6" of what I don't know, and is also 12-30" above grade.
Have roost boards with PDZ and pine shavings on floor, shavings are about 2" deep in summer and maybe 6-8" deep in winter.
I figure dry and ammonia free is good and they nestle down in the floor shavings to nap on those frigid 'stay inside' winter days.
I push the shavings back, and they scratch down, to the vinyl when I walk in to feed and clean boards, so it's stays stirred up and spread out.
Going to horizontal nipples in a jug with heater, I hope, for water this winter...and am working on a no-bill feeder as a lot of crumble ends up in the shavings.
Babblebabbleblahblah...lots of ways to house chickens.

Sure wish I could get those 'used' shavings to break down into dirt faster tho, I totally change out shavings spring and fall.

I would love to see your no bill feeder, the waste of food drives me nuts

I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO SLEEP FOR 2 NIGHTS

(Yes, I am yelling!)

I'm sorry, why?

my coops have wood floor and are at least 2' off the ground, I have some left over steel siding on 2 sides to block the wind, nothing else, bedding maybe 4" deep in winter, ( put used bedding around my pine trees for mulch) I use poop boards, litter does not break down much, chckens don't need a lot of heat. I do have a 12'x16' coverd (old car port) area up in winter so they can go out side, all water and food are kept out in this covered area.
Got one side of the winter shelter up yesterday Top stays up all year, coop is one wall back,facing the east is open and I will put the last wall up later this month

 

[matt44644]

oct 4-12
Family Farm and Home has Armada brand 40lb layer feed $8.99.40lb corn $5.99