Official BYC Poll: What type of COOP bedding do you like best?

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

Question: can just dirt be used under roosts? I have a mix of sand and dirt I put there now and previously used straw. But dirt will go better then sand in compost, so can I just use dirt in roost poop tray? Will it absorb moisture? I scoop poop daily under there. .. Here's a recent pic but I have changed roost setup and added more sand dirt today.

 

[aart]

can I just use dirt in roost poop tray? Will it absorb moisture? I scoop poop daily under there. .. Here's a recent pic but I have changed roost setup and added more sand dirt today.

Probably would be easier to set a tray(s) or piece of wood under there to pick up and scrape off.
Neither dirt nor sand will absorb much moisture.

 

[BDutch]

Question: can just dirt be used under roosts? I have a mix of sand and dirt I put there now and previously used straw. But dirt will go better then sand in compost, so can I just use dirt in roost poop tray? Will it absorb moisture? I scoop poop daily under there. .. Here's a recent pic but I have changed roost setup and added more sand dirt today.
View attachment 2596787

If you have a superb ventilation the soil doesn’t have to absorb the moisture of the poop. The poo gets dry within a several hours. Then you can use soil just as well as sand.

I would skip the plastic. Make a construction with a solid poop board and higher roosts. Chickens like to roost higher than the nest box area.

I use cardboard from wine boxes , a little sand + dried greens from the garden on the poop board. Add more greens, shavings or hay from the nest boxes a few times to cover the poo . The cardboard makes it easy to take it all out at once right into the wheelbarrow. But there are many other choices you can make. Let it depend on you’re personal preferences, you’re climate and chicken behaviour.

 

[Timmy Tangles]

We have a small commercially built coop with pine shavings in the boxes. Slide out poop tray under the roosting perches has unwaxed butcher paper on it.

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

If you have a superb ventilation the soil doesn’t have to absorb the moisture of the poop. The poo gets dry within a several hours. Then you can use soil just as well as sand.

I would skip the plastic. Make a construction with a solid poop board and higher roosts. Chickens like to roost higher than the nest box area.

I use cardboard from wine boxes , a little sand + dried greens from the garden on the poop board. Add more greens, shavings or hay from the nest boxes a few times to cover the poo . The cardboard makes it easy to take it all out at once right into the wheelbarrow. But there are many other choices you can make. Let it depend on you’re personal preferences, you’re climate and chicken behaviour.

Thanks for the info. Nice idea to recycle wine boxes for poop boards. I have plenty of ventilation now I have learnt this from BYC. Some of my Silkies can't jump high so roosts can't be any higher although I would like to modify the coop so the nest boxes are coop ground level. Or modify my whole coop! (Currently I have 2 smaller coops inside a larger coop).

 

[BDutch]

Thanks for the info. Nice idea to recycle wine boxes for poop boards. I have plenty of ventilation now I have learnt this from BYC. Some of my Silkies can't jump high so roosts can't be any higher although I would like to modify the coop so the nest boxes are coop ground level. Or modify my whole coop! (Currently I have 2 smaller coops inside a larger coop).

Silkies behave differently. So this might need a whole different approach. Discard my advice please.

 

[Patricia7]

Wood shavings with a good dusting of PDZ mixed in.

Can you tell me what PDZ is?

 

[aart]

Can you tell me what PDZ is?

https://sweetpdz.com/

 

[Chuckie chicken]

I read about coffee husks on here I think? Not grounds, but the shell that is discarded from around the bean during the roasting process. It is very soft and aromatic, and I happen to have a roastery 10 minutes away where I can get it for free. It is slightly damp when I get it, so I air dry it before returning it to the nice burlap bags it comes in, then I store it. Two weeks worth gave me about 4" in the coop, and after 2½ weeks with chickens, still looks like new thanks to the poop boards! At this rate I will have an unending supply.

 

[Kiki]

I read about coffee husks on here I think? Not grounds, but the shell that is discarded from around the bean during the roasting process. It is very soft and aromatic, and I happen to have a roastery 10 minutes away where I can get it for free. It is slightly damp when I get it, so I air dry it before returning it to the nice burlap bags it comes in, then I store it. Two weeks worth gave me about 4" in the coop, and after 2½ weeks with chickens, still looks like new thanks to the poop boards! At this rate I will have an unending supply.

Will you please take pictures of this the next time you go outside?