Old dog run, will it work?

[Calia]

Ok, so I've been working on clearing the bramble in the yard, and discover an somewhat small dog run. The dimensions are approximately 10ft x 10ft x 4ft and on a concrete slab. The concrete slab extends a foot or two beyond the edge of the run, but is also the flooring through out the inside of the run. Now, would it be ok to have the girls running around on the cement (maybe have a layer of wood chips or even soil for them) or should i consider breaking the concrete inside the run, or finding a different location,so they are on direct soil?

 

[FireTigeris]

I'd cover the floor (deep) give it a roost and a roof and use it.

 

[Slater1995]

You should put bedding down for sure. the concrete will be bad on their feet. Chickens scratch not matter what. If you can move it to regular ground that would be best. We are using two dog runs for our chickens and we are converting an old portable garage (minus the tarp) into a chicken pen. We are using Chicken fencing on the car port but we covered the dog pens in chicken netting. the regular fence is too big and will let in predators. We didn;t want to chance something getting to the birds so we took extra care to make sure they are as safe as they can be. We have also wrapped the pen in tarps and created a slanted roof to run water off. They have half closed off for night and can go into the open if they want, but the entire area is enclosed to keep them safe.

Hope this helps.

 

[Hamptons06]

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Totally!! I agree with having some sort of chicken-friendly flooring that's at least 6" deep. Sand is no hassle option.

 

[Calia]

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Now do you think I should treat this like the deep litter method, stirring it every few days and cleaning out once or twice a year? Or treat it like a cat litter box and scoop the poop?

 

[Hamptons06]

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Now do you think I should treat this like the deep litter method, stirring it every few days and cleaning out once or twice a year? Or treat it like a cat litter box and scoop the poop?

Like a cat litter box. I'd still rake it maybe 1x a week anyway just to keep it fresh.

 

[FireTigeris]

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Now do you think I should treat this like the deep litter method, stirring it every few days and cleaning out once or twice a year? Or treat it like a cat litter box and scoop the poop?

Like a cat litter box. I'd still rake it maybe 1x a week anyway just to keep it fresh.

Yep, I'd have plastic siding roof over 1/2 and hardware cloth roof over 1/2 and run 8-12 inch high plastic walls to contain the litter on the inside, run hardware cloth all the way around the outside (one level, height of the cloth) I'd electrify the bottom 2 inches and the bottom 8 inches to keep the critters off (from the outside).. it would be predator proof ...

 

[foxinachickenhouse]

Sounds like a find! I'd totally use it. Is it really only four feet tall though? Would be nice if you could walk inside. Could you frame up a short (2ish ft.) wall and put the run on top of it? You'd have to figure something to integrate the door. Sand sounds like the way to go over the concrete, depending on what you go with for covering it.