Repurposing a small donkey barn

[MaryZoe]

Hello,

Now that we're moving our donkeys out of our chicken yard, I am going to add a couple chicken ladders and some nesting boxes and turn their little barn into a chicken coop. My concern: the floor is sand with lots of dried donkey doo and straw mixed in. It's pretty dusty. I tried to scoop some of it out, but it is an endless, thankless project. Can I simply add a nice thick layer of the compressed straw I like to buy from Tractor Supply over the top of the sandy, dried-poopy, old straw-filled floor for my chickens? They've wandered in and out of the barn for years without a problem. I just wonder if sleeping in there with the dust would cause distress. Anyone have experience with this?

Thanks!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I would not worry about it at all. While they are sleeping what's going to be stirring up the dust? If you leave them locked in there after they wake up they will scratch and stir it up, but I just don't see an issue with that. I don't know how big that donkey barn is or how many chickens, but I just can't see them stirring up enough for it to be a problem. They are going in and out now, it's not like there are any pathogens in there they haven't already been exposed to.

If you want you can put some bedding in there, straw or pine shavings either should help keep dust down. I don't think it is necessary but it should not hurt.

 

[MaryZoe]

I would not worry about it at all. While they are sleeping what's going to be stirring up the dust? If you leave them locked in there after they wake up they will scratch and stir it up, but I just don't see an issue with that. I don't know how big that donkey barn is or how many chickens, but I just can't see them stirring up enough for it to be a problem. They are going in and out now, it's not like there are any pathogens in there they haven't already been exposed to.

If you want you can put some bedding in there, straw or pine shavings either should help keep dust down. I don't think it is necessary but it should not hurt.

That’s kind of what I thought. They won’t be locked up in it, so there shouldn’t be much more scratching than there already is. Now it’s a matter of making it pleasant enough that they decide they like it more than their present perches—outside their juvenile coop that is now filled with another batch of juvy’s!