Need help converting stall to coop (deep litter method)

[Domerdoc]

Hello! This is my first time on here and I was wondering if anyone could help me out. I have a nice, large, clean barn with two horse stalls. The horse stalls have heavy gauge rubber horse mats on top generic sand on the floor. Given that I have such a nice area and don't have any other animals, I'm going to convert the stall into a coop for my up and coming guinea hen and Orpington flock. My flock is a little over two weeks old so I haven't moved them to the barn just yet. I want to do the deep litter method in the stall and was wondering about my options.
1) Should I remove the rubber mats and just put the litter on top of the existing sand? Or would it work out better to leave the rubber matts and just start the litter on top of the rubber? The rubber matts are not perfectly placed in the stall so you can see some of the sand between the matts.
2) My other question is about the litter. I've bought some pine shavings which I plan to use as litter. Would it be OK to use other free material that I have around my house and mix it in with the pine shavings? I have lots of dried leaves around the yard that I can mulch or leave intact and put them in the stall. I know not to use cedar chips but I have other varieties of down trees in my yard which I am going to put into my wood chipper. They are oak, cherry and birch trees mainly. I have so much mulch that it would obviously be free for me to just mulch it and put the stuff in the stable mixed in with the pine shavings. Would that work for the deep litter method? I'm trying to find ways to recycle all of my downed trees and save money on the birds' litter.
Thanks

 

[Reurra]

Welcome to Chicken ownership!! and BYC!!

I remember having the same problem when i started.

I have a 20 foot by 12 foot garage. I just divided off a 9x12 section. its roughly the size of a stall. I use deep litter in winter and thin litter in summer. The only issue I ahve with the deep liter is that when i open the door, a bunch of litter spills out. I think i need to put up a small plywood barrier to stop that from happening lol.

As for the litter types, there are all kinds. Some people like cat litter for easy sifting. Some like suing pine shavings and leaves. Some use straw.

I find straw can harbor parasites like mites and other creepies. Hay is good for nest boxes but not for flooring because it tends to mold. Leaves can hold parasites and harbor mold as well. I prefer to use Alpine Shavings. Thats the brand. Its pine and alder shavings. Ive read never to use cedar because it can be toxic to chickens if ingested. You can buy 40lb blocks of shavings for around 5-8 dollars a brick, which will cover your floor easily. I use 4 40lb bricks for my deep litter and it lasts me all winter. Or you can go to a recycling plant where they sell mulch and other plant bi-products. I used to get a 8ft truck bed load for my horse from Rexxius in Oregon for about $10.

As for the mats, leave them. They are very useful for cleaning, feces and other wet matter will soak into the sand floor and eventually you will need to clear it out and put in new sand. With the rubber down you can easily clean up messes and keep things sanitary.

Remember, with any cleaning you do in a barn, wear a mask to prevent respiratory infections.

 

[Domerdoc]

Sounds good. I was really unsure what to do with those rubber matts. They are so gosh darn heavy!!!! I'll leave them in.
Does anyone know if all other trees (like oak, birch and cherry) are OK to use as chipped pieces in the deep litter?
Thanks for you very helpful info!