rethinking coop foundation

[Darrell72223]

Hello. I have had a backyard flock (4 birds) for a few months now. I bought a coop kit which I really like. I started to make a concrete slab for the coop, but I decided to fill the form with pea gravel instead. Sounded like a good idea. Now I'm wondering if I should have done something different. Some of the poop I can rake out; the rest settles in the pea gravel. I can spray the pea gravel occasionally and wash the poop to the bottom. But it's beginning to smell. What do you suggest? Continue with the pea gravel but do something like DE, lime, washing it out more frequently, etc? Or is there an advantage to pouring a concrete foundation and using something like mulch which I can remove occasionally?

Penny for your thoughts.

darrell

 

[Alaskan]

It isn't quite clear to me.....

Is the pea gravel under the roosting area? Under the entire coop? Under the coop and run?

I REALLY like the Sweet PDZ on a poop tray under the roosts. The poop tray also gives your coop a second story so instant extra square feet. In a small coop you could use it over the entire floor of the coop. The PDZ is super easy to clean on a daily or weekly basis and =almost no smell.

For the run, if it is a small run, and getting stinky with poop.... I have no experience!

Arg! (Hate not being helpful)

lime is WONDERFUL in outhouses though, makes them almost odor free. (Have experience with that). I don't know how much you can use around chickens safely....

There are threads on here about using sand in the run, some people really like it, some say it turns into a stinky mess. I am not sure yet why there are such greatly different view points....but I haven't read all of the threads yet. I am vaguely considered using sand...but haven't done it.

 

[Darrell72223]

Hi. The pea gravel is under the whole coop. There is a pull-out tray under the roosting area. Thus, the pea gravel is the floor of the run.

 

[aart]

So you're talking about the floor of the coop, not a foundation under just the walls.

I would think that pea gravel would be impossible to clean, sand can be sifted to clean out the poop and zeolite(PDZ) mixed in to absorb the ammonia. A properly formed concrete slab would be easier to clean and you can use whatever bedding you want...and if it doesn't work out, it can all be scraped up and changed.

When you say you 'spray' the pea gravel...do you mean like with a garden hose, if so where does all that water (mixed with poop) go?

Pics of situation might help to evaluate the issues.

 

[Darrell72223]

I'm liking what I'm reading about sand and pdz. I think I can just cover the existing pea gravel with sand. Where does one find PDZ?

 

[aart]

PDZ is sold as a stall freshener, so farm stores have it or you could order it on amazon.

Sand would work over the gravel once you get enough down to fill the voids in the gravel then make couple inch layer of sand over the gravel.

Good luck

 

[Wildtim]

First thing I would do is just sprinkle PDF over the gravel. It can handle some pretty heavy Odets even in a dirt floored horse stall so it might solve your problem all on its own. Just sprinkle it over all the gravel like heavily seeding a lawn.