Some basic flooring questions

[MissO]

My first post on here!

We just finished getting our coop and run made and put into the area of our yard where it will live. We have it in an area of our yard sectioned off by a fence.

The coop and run are contained so they chickens will be able to be in there during the day without getting out and then when we are home they can be let out into the part of the yard that's inside their little fenced in area.

I have a few questions ...

Inside their coop, I was planning on putting wood shavings - like under their roosts, and in their nesting area. Is that a good idea?

Should I put wood shavings in the run area too?

Around these, we currently have bark chips (like what you'd use in a garden). Any reason these would be harmful to the chickens to hang out on?

We have a ton of pea gravel we could use, too, if that would be a good idea. Or we have access to rice hulls at a local store.

Would love any an all advice. We're trying to get everything set up so we can get the chickens this weekend. Thanks!

 

[CityChook]

from MN.

Wood shavings work well inside the coop. Do a search (see the blue bar above) for DLM or deep litter method for more information.

I would avoid shavings in the run. I know some folks do it, but when/if the shavings get wet they will begin to rot and get moldy and smelly. Plain old playground sand works great for me in the run. Poo just seems to dry up and disappear. I rake it out once or twice a season and that's it.

Pea gravel would probably help with drainage, but might be a little tough on their feet. Maybe a couple inches of pea gravel with the sand over the top? Dunno. Hopefully others with more experience with gravel can chime in.

Good luck and enjoy the chickies!

 

[Emzyyy]

Yea I would put sand in the run, and if you could some cheap vinal flooring in the coop with shavings on top is much easier to clean. You can find some on freecycle.org or craigslist.com

 

[gallusdomesticus]

There are probably as many different opinions on coop design and materials as there are members of the forum.

For me, I raised my coop about 3 feet off the ground and used poultry wire for the floor. This allows me to hose off the droppings that don't fall through the wire and the droppings that do stick to the wire, air dry quickly so there is very little to no smell associated with them. The girls don't seem the mind the flooring as they are normally on the perching bar or in the nest boxes.

 

[jkmiller826]

I'm wondering the same thing. I have a coop-in-progress with an asphalt floor already. I was thinking of putting wood shavings inside the coop also.

As for the run, I thought I would need to make the run go through grass, but I've got a big space formerly occupied by an above ground pool, now occupied by a large sand pit. Should I just build my run into the sand pit? It's the spot with my oak tree cuttings.