No Flooring?

[Dylan6]

I have an old calf shed attached to my barn and in the calf shed there is a concrete floor and the walls are insulated but do I need sawdust or sand on the floor and if not, is it easier to clean without sawdust or sand?

 

[HEChicken]

I just moved my flock into a new coop that I built on a concrete slab a few days ago. I was concerned that jumping down from the roosts directly onto the concrete would eventually lead to food/leg injuries so I have a generous layer of shavings on the slab to cushion their landings. I haven't had them there long enough to need to clean yet but am satisfied so far.

 

[Dylan6]

thank you

 

[En Plein Air Farms]

A member here mentioned getting bumblefoot is a good possibility on concrete. They didn't explain why. If it is pressure that causes it, the jumping down from the roost might be a problem. a chicken ladder would probably solve that?

I have a wooden floored coop, bare plywood, which I scrub out and paint every two years. Depending on how many chickens I have I clean it every day to once a week (I've been as high as 10, and as low as 3). Takes about 3 minutes. I keep the shovel and poopboard scraper hung in the coop...no excuses to procrastinate

Unless you have a place to put adding litter to the coop and then cleaning it out results in a lot of 'stuff' to deposit somewhere.

If the space is big enough, you could also eliminate cleaning the floor by using the deep litter method, which is what I use in the playpen. Two feet of sawdust which they happily turn themselves. it is always clean, and if you want ever couple of years you can compost it out in the garden and refresh it.