raising chicks on cement

[brian21]

I was thinking about converting an old hog house into a chicken coop. The floor is cement will this work very well? Will this be hard to clean up, rough on the bird's feet, cold during the winter? Any comments or concerns would be appriciated Thanks!

 

[ducks4you]

Do it. It will be an easy refit for the hog house. Just put down 1/4 inch cattle mats on top of the cement--get the ones with the buttons, so you won't slip. The rubber will insulate against the cold and you can put all the bedding that you want on top of it.
I had my birds in a horse stall with these mats all last winter. All 7 girls were dry and healthy all winter (see my page). They kept saying, "What snow?...um...what IS snow?..Why would anyone NEED snow?" stuff like that.
I got tired of the comments...

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Just put down a thick layer of pine shavings.
Rubber mats will only make it harder to clean

 

[purr]

yup just use the deep litter method when it starts to get cold you won't need the mats

 

[brian21]

I have an abundance of wheat straw and praire hay would that work instead of buying pine shavings?

 

[clayhill]

I actually poured concrete for my floor in my coops, I like the fact that rodents and predators cannot dig into the coop. It's also easier to clean, shovel out and replace litter. And, yes, I only use straw in my coops. How lucky you are to have this "pre-fabed"!

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

wheat straw and praire hay

If it gets wet at all, it will mat down and smell bad, and will be hard to clean out​

 

[whillo]

I've had my new coop on pavement with pine pellets and hay. I fluff it up every day and seems to be doing well but we're going to try out some sand this week just to see what the difference will be. We're temporary here so want to be prepared for our permanent home. Heard a lot of good things about sand here on the forums.