new coop flooring - deep litter question

[bryan99705]

Next time you do a complete clean out your coop, switch to sand about a inch deep and try it out. Cleans like kitty litter and doesn't fly everywhere when the birds are scratching, like shavings do. Coarse sand supplies grit too. When I used shavings in my tween coop, they never settled, except when poo'd on or got wet then they turned to rocks I had to dig at to remove from the unpainted plywood floor, because the chickens kept stirring them up. Both are easy to remove with a dust pan and a shop vac but I would suggest you give both a try and see what you prefer.

Enjoy your birds, biggest pain in the butt you'll ever love

 

[nuchickontheblock]

Thanks all for your suggestions.

I did add about 6 more inches of shavings today and it's nice and cushy. My DH raised up the nest boxes and I put the waterer and food on a shelf. So far so good. I have a removable board by the people door, so the shavings don't fall out when we open the door.

I even was walking in there barefoot today (it was our first "hot" day of the year) although I won't do that usually, and felt pretty good!!

The girls adjusted to their new coop in only 4 days which I think is great. We only kept them confined a couple of days and let them free range the past 2. They all put themselves to roost tonight without any encouragement from us.

Even the little one who is mostly blind is doing ok. Every once in a while she goes to where the old coop was in the yard and kind of looks puzzled. But, she has been practicing getting in and out of the coop and on and off the roost, as this roost is higher than the last one she had. Funny thing is that she went in there today all by herself and practiced. I watched her through the window. She knows what she needs. . . that little smartie!