NY chicken lover!!!!

[stonykill]

I do deep litter on all three coops - I change 2-3 times/year, add new shavings and or DE if I smell anything.

DL in all 8 coops. Change it once a year.Top it off often.

 

[Tough Old Bird]

TOB---above are two pictures of the Woods style chicken coop we built for the terrorists (aka rir, br and red sexlinks)..Dh built it raised instead of on the ground like the original plans called for by Dr Woods. It is 20 inches off the ground so the cheeps have use of under the coop as well as their run (not built yet in the pic). The bottom pic shows the front window looking back through the coop. Nest boxes are on the left and roosts in the back. 5 gallon bucket feeder hanging from a chain and the waterer is now a 5 gallon galvanized one sitting on a special raised table built with a cookie tin heater housed underneath. The vynal flooring is up to where the wall meets the floor. We have 21 chickens in there (its a 10 x 12) and the run comes off the front (see pop door in top pic) and is 10x20, not including their access to under the coop. Hope this helps.

Now that is a sweet little set-up. I like all the natural light. How do you handle the large screened window in the winter? The pictures really help me to get a handle on the coop internals. Thanks for sharing!

TOB

 

[Tough Old Bird]

TOB, when I had 6 chickens I loved my sand floor. The poop dried out rapidly, so no smell. I taped a cat litter scoop to a long pole (old broom handle) and used that to scoop the poop out of the sand.

Wood shavings are a LOT lighter than sand if you do have to shovel it all out, however I only changed my sand once a year....shavings require more frequent changing and refreshing.

50 pounds of sand at Lowes cost $3.49...It took 3 bags to cover an 8x8 foot floor. Shavings cost $5 a "bundle". It took one bundle to do the same floor space. I just did it today, so I don't know how long it will be before I have to add or change the shavings. I am not set up for deep litter method, so I will have to change it more often than those who use deep litter. As I understand it the door of the coop has to be higher to accomodate the accumulating litter as you add more shavings to the top of the composting shavings already on the floor. I probably could retro fit my door for deep litter, but I am prone to tripping over things, so I am not apt to do so.

Once again, this is super helpful info, particularly the contrast between sand working well for your smaller flock vs. the likelihood of shavings for the increased flock size...and also the price comparisons per your coop size requirements. Thanks "loads"...pun intended.

Great point on the elevated door frame. I doubt I would have caught that necessity and have yet to read about it until your comment.

TOB

 

[Tough Old Bird]

DL in all 8 coops. Change it once a year.Top it off often.

Wow, 8 coops! I would imagine you've got some great gardens, Stony!

I'm also considering where to keep our compost pile.


TOB

 

[stonykill]

Wow, 8 coops! I would imagine you've got some great gardens, Stony!

I'm also considering where to keep our compost pile.


TOB

well my wife is a gardener

 

[rancher hicks]

I hadn't thought of a clamp on light. I was thinking of one of those lights that mechanics use...you know the one that comes with an extention cord and hangs on something...they must have a name, I just can't remember.......

I use the clamp on lights in my coop. One has a clicker switch to turn it off and on. The other is a brooder lamp with a regular light bulb in it.

Now I've seen at HD where they have extension cords with a "Switch" button on the end and I hope to get one and plug both lights into it and then I can just reach in and hit the switch to turn the lights off at night.

Right now I have to go into the coop and switch one off and unplug the other. It's a pain.

 

[marquisella]

Ok, if I could do it all over again, start from scratch, my coops would all be off the ground. I would line the floors with linoleum and still use shavings. I would put small stones in the runns when the chickens desimate it innto mud....

But, I already had a barn, so made do with what was already there. I used the mats because the coops I built onn the sides of the barn, just had gravel for a base. It would get wet very fast. The 4 in. mats keep the bedding up out of any water that might seep in,but they are small so they do get yucky fast anyhow.

I'm just too old to start building newcoops,and like the ease of having water available in all my coops & electricity without havinng to walk outside to service each one.

If I could really do it over, I would build a long narrow barn with a wide aisle inn the middle & the coops with individual runs all along the sides. Raise up the coop floors. But still, you would have the issue of roof water runoff which would drench the runs when it rains. I would use stones in the runs to keep the chickes up out of the water.

Of course, I'm thinking big...I have `13 coops now, if I was only having a few, it would be different, like those cute ones in this thread...

 

[rancher hicks]

I have a question about sand. I'm not understanding how sand dries out. I might see usinng it in a run, if the run doesn't get puddles, but I can't see using it in a coop. I have 4in.thick foam animal mats in all my coops, and they still get damp/wet. If I used sand, it would never dry out and I would still have to muck out & replace. Wet shavings are heavy enough, I can't imagine lifting up wet poopy sand to muck out. Am I missing something?

Sand dries out faster than heavier soil because the water runs/drains out faster. I don't use it in the coop since the water is still there. It has just drained to the floor. I prefer that it get soaked up into the wood shavings. Then I just shovel all that moisture out.

 

[rancher hicks]

Ok, if I could do it all over again, start from scratch, my coops would all be off the ground. I would line the floors with linoleum and still use shavings. I would put small stones in the runns when the chickens desimate it innto mud....

But, I already had a barn, so made do with what was already there. I used the mats because the coops I built onn the sides of the barn, just had gravel for a base. It would get wet very fast. The 4 in. mats keep the bedding up out of any water that might seep in,but they are small so they do get yucky fast anyhow.

I'm just too old to start building newcoops,and like the ease of having water available in all my coops & electricity without havinng to walk outside to service each one.

If I could really do it over, I would build a long narrow barn with a wide aisle inn the middle & the coops with individual runs all along the sides. Raise up the coop floors. But still, you would have the issue of roof water runoff which would drench the runs when it rains. I would use stones in the runs to keep the chickes up out of the water.

Of course, I'm thinking big...I have `13 coops now, if I was only having a few, it would be different, like those cute ones in this thread...

There are all kinds of coops and each has it's own drawback. My hoops are off the ground but the run is not and I didn't build up the area so it was a slight hill. I supposed I could still do that but it's a lot of work and i can't shovel the soil.

My Coop was in place and when the idiot who had the house before us filled it in but didn't raise the coop. I dug a trench all the way around it so the water drains away but still there is not enough ventilation under the floor.

I think drainage is why you see barns on a hillside.

 

[cracrzy4chicks]

DL in all 8 coops. Change it once a year.Top it off often.

What is DL ??