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ddrgillespie

ddrgillespie

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Hi everyone I am Darlene I am new to chicken ownership I have two silkies one white one black Fluffy and Fido I am setting up a chicken coop for them and trying to decide on what to put on the floor we have ceramic tile for ease of cleaning and was leaning toward pellets but thought chips would be more comfortable, and DE is another confusing item do I need it on the floor for them to dust themselves with or feed it to them? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
 
Alright
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great to have you joining the BYC flock
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Sounds like you have house chickens
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A litter box would be nice for them but use a beach type sand for them to dust with .......
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Enjoy your poultry
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gander007
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Welcome to Backyard chickens. I wouldn't waste money on DE, I have never found it to work at anything. Are your birds in the house or an outside coop? If their coop is away from the house, I would put down just a linoleum floor and pine shavings over that. I wouldn't want them to wreck ceramic tile.

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Glad you have joined us.

I agree with drumstick diva about the ceramic tile and DE. I think the grout would be the problem in outdoors environment and the surface. Many folks use linoleum. Bedding depends on your location. I have plywood floor with sand bedding. Have removed and replaced sand only once in 2 years and the floor was clean. But if you are in a colder area shavings would likely work better. The DE is really dusty - I added it to my nest boxes and wish I had not, it is not something we want ourselves or our flocks to inhale.

I do keep PDZ around to use if any areas in coop or run get damp or wet and it really works well.

A dust bath separate from their feeding and sleeping areas would be best. If you search dust baths there are lots of ideas on what to use and what mix to place in it.

Good luck with your new fock and coop decisions.
 
Thanks, but my chickens are in the coop out back. We have ceramic floors because our coop is made from recycled materials. Ceramic tile was available vinyl was not. I have decided to go with pellets for summer and switch to pine chips or straw for the cooler months. DE will not be used but I still need to do more research on dust baths before making a decision on what to use. Thanks for all the replies. If you can think of anything I might need to know please tell me. I love my chicks and want to be a good guardian for them.
 
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@ddrgillespie

PDZ is horse stall freshener, it absorbs moisture and smells. If you search in the forums there are many discussions on it, that's where I found out about it. It is a wonderful product to have on hand. It helps absorb water fount spills and moist poop issues. It is available at TSC and probably at smaller feed/seed stores. If you decide you need it, make sure to get the pellet/granular type and not the powder. I use sand in my coop/run and nests and mix a little in when needed. It is safe if they eat a little.
 

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