Newbie

[DobieLover]

I had thought of mulch but not sure if that is good for them.

Another question is 'do chickens need toys'?

No.

See above. They need things to scratch around in, substrate to dust bathe in, places to jump up on the perch and preen and things to hide behind to avoid upper ranking birds they are trying to give space to.

 

[sharonelayne]

Welcome to BYC!

My main chicken coop is off the ground. I have had a temporary one for raising chicks that sat on the ground...it was made very cheaply and as a result, didn't last long. How quickly wood rots depends on the quality and type of wood...all wood does eventually break down. Are you in a wet climate or area? Can water pool around your coop? Another concern, of course, is predators getting under it if it is flimsy.

I live in SE Alabama now. Moved up from Florida as I was tired of being scared of hurricanes. We had 7 inches of rain here last week and that is what got me worried about the wood. Normally, it is not wet here but with climate change who knows what will happen. I did raise the wood coop yesterday onto some pavers. To raise it any higher would require 2 people and I am a widow. I saw the idea of sand though and will look into it. There are no predators here. I had all the pine trees removed when I moved here as I can not stand them. There is an open pasture behind me with goats that belong to the neighbor. My dogs are in a chain link fence area and the chicken run backs up to it. I wonder if there is a plastic chicken coop that would work just as well. I need to check into that. Anyway, I certainly enjoy reading the articles in BYC and I am thankful I found the site.

 

[sharonelayne]

View attachment 4007205

No.

See above. They need things to scratch around in, substrate to dust bathe in, places to jump up on the perch and preen and things to hide behind to avoid upper ranking birds they are trying to give space to.

Thanks for the info. I will look into something for them. My run is not as big as yours but will find something suitable.