Small Run flooring need help

Linzlu713

In the Brooder
Mar 29, 2020
10
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SO we are newly chicken owners. Getting coop ready for our 3 ( well one Roo too on his way to new home) Lav Orps. We have a 5' x 5' coop attached a 3' x 8' run that is just fenced in. I have ready everything about sand.. my plan is to use chickens to benefit my garden. Their coop will be right on the southern end of my 15 x 30' wood chip garden. We are on eastern shore and get a ton of rain and our coop is in a area that is on the edge of a area that gets really wet. I want to sue the manure for compost. but im just not sure which flooring material to use. any suggestions? Flys are always a issue and we have a lot of heat in summer.
 
I'm guessing that the way to go in your case would be an elevated coop, which means a solid floor. Once the other, more experienced BYCers chime in you'll get some great advice.
 
Rain doesn't tend to favor sand, as it washes poop into all the tiny crevices where it just sits and starts to stink. Is the set up fully roofed? How is your drainage?

You could just turn the run into your compost "bin" and compost directly in there.

Side question: is your coop elevated and the space underneath available to the chickens? Your run is extremely tiny, so if there is no under coop access, I hope you're planning on free ranging the majority of time, or better make plans to expand the run.
 
yes our coop is roughly 5 x 5 and 64" high roof. there is 18" under for shade. its a 4' wide by 8' run. no roof. Its not like soggy wet there but it rains alot around here and the ground is solid clay under topsoil layer. eventually I will have a chicken tunnel going around garden but for now I couldn't deal with that.
 
I'd consider deep litter, either true deep litter for composting, or a pseudo type which is more based around wood chips for drainage, and hope that that'll help improve the soil (and drainage) in the spot the coop/run sit on. Clay does tend to cause drainage issues so may cause ongoing headache regardless of litter choice.
 
x2 on the wood chips.
I use leaf litter and dried grass clippings. The girls love to spend their time scratching through it looking for tidbits. Although, this spring one of them has decided to make a break for it and is digging a hole to China. It is about 1 1/2 feet deep now. It will be filled in as soon as I find my shovel, lol.
 
work in progress-
 

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