Newbie's Coop Questions

[new2chickens2011]

Sooo my first coop is done! Yay

So before the chicks move in, I have some questions......The coop sits on a just plain dirt area, so what I'm wondering is should I put sand in the run? Where to buy sand? And I want to dry the deep litter method in the coop, so what should I put in there? Sorry, I don't know much about this......

 

[Moabite]

I use pine shavings in the coop and river sand in the run and it works great. It is amazing how long you can go between cleanings. Deep litter method is so much easier. I only have about 3 inches of pine shavings and after all winter, the OSB flooring looked brand new. The best part was the 8 ft tall tomato plants with softball size fruits that we grew in the composted litter!

 

[AZBootsie]

Quote:
I am JEALOUS!! My tomatoes were sickly this year..

Unless you have drainage or mud problems, you can just throw the shavings right on the dirt if you like...or sand...both work fine.

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

ooooooh, plain dirt area?.......

Good for making compost?......

ya didn't mention if you're a gardener, but this sounds great for layering organic materials for the birds to poop in and persistently turn.....

 

[Patricia Jane]

I use pine shavings in my coop, deep litter. Love it. Just gutted my coop, scrubbed and replaced all pine shavings and cleaned out the yard. Phew, done for another 6mos. I have a dirt run/yard I know a lot of BYCers use sand in both and love it. If you decide on sand you could either get it at a home improvement store or a landscaping co. depending on how large your coop and run is. If it's large it may be cheaper to buy it at a landscape co and they should deliver it. Good luck and have fun. Oh and

And I'm jealous too, My tomatoes were terrible this year too. Actually my whole garden was a bust.

 

[Moabite]

My tomatoes got sick too.

Not exactly sure what happened. Looks kinda like verticulum wilt, but I'm not sure 'cause my peppers are doing fine.

---Use sand if it can get soaked by the weather. Keeping things dry and ventilated is key to a healthy coop. BTW, sand is fine for most gardens too!

 

[Sonic Pug]

Just put the girls in their new coop 2 weeks ago. We chose sand for the run and pine shavings for the hen house. We are so happy with those choices! We got the sand delivered from a landscaping company. We decided that we will clean it out about 1x weekly. So easy and hardly any smell.

 

[new2chickens2011]

Thank you Everyone!!

I do have a vegetable garden, and I hope the chickens will be able to help me there

I think I will do pine shavings in coop and sand in run. Anything under the pine shavings, or just directly on the OSB?

 

[Sonic Pug]

We have just the OSB down under the shavings but I hear some people put linoleum down for easier clean up. Right now, everything seems to sweep up pretty well without it though.