Need help for bedding material?

[Starscream]

Hi new again to chickens. Its been a long time I have raised chickens again. I was wondering what type of bedding do I use on a concrete or cement floor for my coop. Any ideas of bedding to keep the poop smell down on cement floors and will be easy to clean.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I use pine shavings on concrete floor.
For winter, I put a sheet of 1/2"+ plywood down first to help protect from cold coming up from below.

 

[Starscream]

Am more worred about the rain in the winter. I assumr the board is to hold up the shavings from being wet?

 

[snow5164]

I’m in Canada where it gets very cold , we have sand on our wooden floors . Scoop it daily and it’s great , they dust bathe in it . I wet it down to control dust sometimes ,

Cement in the barn is covered I. Straw ... it doesn’t absorb wet though.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Why would the concrete be wet if it is in a building?
I have a brooder house with a concrete floor. It doesn't get wet no matter how much it rains.

 

[perchie.girl]

Really depends on your environment.. And availability of materials. I am in Southern California our humidity is like 20 percent but we have alot of single digit days.

Bedding does a couple of things. its a drying medium for the poo and it provides impact cushion for when they hop off the perches.... Helps keep away sore feet or bumble foot.

That being said.... I have a couple of choices that I prefer. First of all you might consider a vapor barrier for the floor Like a sheet of linolium to hold it in and protect the concrete from water spills. then if you have places where the bedding can scoot out Put a little four to six inch barrier...

Ok Choices for bedding. I prefer rice hulls. they do an excellent job Moisture does go through to the ground while the top stays dry. My coops are on Decomposed concrete so this is a good choice for me.... It stays soft and resiliant and the chickens LOVE dispersing it when its first put in because the hulls still have a few bits of rice on them.

You can sift the hulls for poo for cleaning and then put a bit of fresh on top to replace. If its a small space you can just shop vac it out and replace...LOL

Sand is another good choice clean like a catbox. Scoop spills...


Most poo is deposited inside the coop where they roost. some people use shelves and put a bit of litter on top Or rest boot trays with litter on them....

Here I have decided to go with trays made of canvas or old feed bags hung on removable rods.... The material allows moisture to wick out and air dry... Swap em out once a week and dump em out in the compost bin.... rince for the next swap out. Very little poo in the coop its self.

I am some what handicapped so this would be a good choce for me for my next coop renovation.

Commercially availalbe bedding is fine the kind you use for horses. I prefer a smaller particle... Be choosy of Cedar... the kind that has a strong cedar smell. There are different species of cedar that do not have that odor. this includes building materials they are fine. But Cedar that is fragrant can cause respiratory issues.

sorry I wrote a book

But I have been researching this for some time. When I do the rebuild for myself I hope to incorporate most of the features that will make it easy for me to deal with a large Poultry house. They all came from other brilliant people here on BYC...

I will let others speak of Deep litter. it can be done on concrete but it can be a challenge. I dont have the muscle or help but Its a fine concept.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Why would the concrete be wet if it is in a building?
I have a brooder house with a concrete floor. It doesn't get wet no matter how much it rains.

I am certain yours is built specifically for the purpose....

But In a garage or barn there will always be instances of melting ice or rain water coming in under doors etc. When I store bags of feed on concrete I use a pallet to under neath to allow air flow between the feed and the floor. but you pick up that pallet and sometimes you can see places where water either had Sucked up through the floor especially on an outside wall...... So Better Safe than sorry?

deb

 

[Starscream]

For me its more of the rain running on the side of the coop and running it down the floor of the coop.

 

[aart]

Welcome to BYC!

For me its more of the rain running on the side of the coop and running it down the floor of the coop.

That's an issue that should be fixed, no matter what kind of bedding you use.
Can you post some pics of your coop so we can make viable suggestions to fix it?