REMODELING AN OLD BARN INTO A COOP

[chickiebocks]

My grandparents old house which we recently purchased has an old barn which i want to "remodel" into a chicken coop. YEARS ago i am told it was used for a chicken coop but they were birds raised strictly for meat, so the accomodations are not as nice as i would like. I will try to post some pictures but the biggest problem i have is the old busted up concrete floor. I know there are gaps that other critters can get into because when cleaning it out we found a dead baby ground hog.. Does anyone have any suggestions how to best "fix up" the floor (without pooring a whole new one) and make it chicken friendly? i have seen alot of posts regarding the pine shavings as a floor covering- is this the best for over concrete? The barn floor stays COMPLETLY dry as far aas i can tell..
Any help is appreciated!
(i live in northeast PA)

 

[mnferalkitty]

I would mix up some concrete and fill in any holes you could even fill the holes with rocks first then put concrete patches on top. Thats what I would do for a cheap quick fix. It should last awhile, may not be pretty but would work. I use straw on my coop floor because I have a whole loft full of it.

 

[Daisy8s]

If the floor is in really bad shape you could take the concrete out. Dirt floor is best for deep litter, anyway. Then, you'd just have to patch along the foundation to keep predators out.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Quick Crete comes in 40 lb bags,? waiting for pics
Think of concrete as really hard dirt...it would be fine for chickens as you can throw straw or chips on it...once you repair the holes it will be very secure.

 

[thecoopbuilder]

If your cracks in the concrete are pretty big, you might want to get some sealant to fill in the cracks just in case. Don't take my word on this, but one of my customers told me that chickens don't like concrete as much, so it is best to have a half an inch to 3/4 of an inch of some type of mesh to make it work out for your chickens.
Good Luck

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Pictures?

 

[chickiebocks]

thanks all! For now we have filled in some of the holes with "quickcrete" and it seems to be holding up well. SO far my 7 little guinea fowl are enjoying the space. For now we were given some straw for FREE so that is down over the bare floor for now. Pics will be up shortly- still a work in progress though. Doing a little more each day with it

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

It's always a work in progress! I think it's the fun part, I'm adding windows with shutters now and making broody pens...some day I will be 'caught up' but then I'll have to add on! No pics yet?

 

[MamiPollo]

I converted a shed on my property to a chicken coop last summer. It has a concrete floor. It has worked out fine, but I have not left the concrete bare.

I put sand over half the floor. I really like the sand. It handles droppings well, they just decompose in a few days. It stays very clean.

Part of the floor tended to flood during rains, so I created an elevated floor by putting a piece of plywood on top of landscape timber joists. This gives them something with some give when they get down from their perch. They tend to land pretty hard.

During the winter I put straw and/or wood chips on top of the plywood. Worked great!

As far as the holes, I agree with the others who say to fill those in if you can. Then cover them with something else.

The concrete is easy to keep clean & you don't have to worry about predators!