Surviving Minnesota!

[duluthralphie]

We just built a new shed...we made half of it a coop. We bought a piece of linoleum and put down on the floor then put shavings down and a whole bunch of leaves. My husband usually goes through the yard and cuts up the leaves with the lawn mower and then picks that up. We put those cut up leaves in the coop on the floor. Probably about 6 inches at least. I was just reading that actually sand is the best to have on the floor but i didn't go that route. I am going to bag up about 4 bags of cut up leaves to add on the floor throughout the winter. Leaves are awesome as they are loose enough for the poop to fall through, plus they compost nicely. Every few days you can stir up your concoction of shavings and leaves and so far i have not had any odor issues in my coop. Also, i added a sand table underneath their roost. Makes for easy clean up and less poop going on the floor.

I have sand, Zimmerman Sand on the bottom of my coops, it works great except for the spring when it is a stinking wet mess.


I never use straw in the coops. I put some straw in the "show" birds cages after I washed them, but I took it out as soon as I got back, The straw affects my breathing more than chips do.

 

[Momof3plustwins]

I just put hay down now but am thinking the kids should bag some leaves for me too.

 

[Minniechickmama]

Alrighty folks, I've been thinking about going rogue and put pine shavings down in my coop this winter instead of the hay I always use. I'll keep hay in the nest boxes. I think I said the same thing going into last winter, but was never brave enough to try the switcheroo. Thoughts on shavings vs. hay? I don't supplement heat in my coop if that makes an opinion difference. This could be a temporary or permanent change.

I say shavings all the way. Hay or straw getting pitched out in the winter is beyond a pain in the butt. I only toss a little straw out in the outer runs to keep them entertained and moving.j
There is the "premium horse bedding" that is wood chips with almost no dust. I thought I would hate it, but I ended up appreciating the low dust and it actually cleans up pretty easily and doesn't compact the way that shavings do. I have been using shavings again, but think I will be switching back to the 'premium' stuff next cleaning round. It is cheaper and comes in paper rather than plastic too.

 

[MinnesotaNice]

@duluthralphie , I think call ducks would compliment your coops nicely. They're so petite that at night you could bring them in to cuddle with you in bed. You could convert a sweatshirt pocket into a Call Duck pouch and bring them with you everywhere.

I toss leaves in the run and they mulch those up nicely all winter. I used them in my garden this spring. @lilbear412 , how deep do you layer your shavings? How many chickens do you have? I'll be putting a sand table (well, Sweet PDZ is what I'm thinking instead of sand) under my roosts and taking out my poop boards. My pullets have somehow been managing to roost on the poop boards and I won't be able to get under to clean them if I raise them closer to the roosts.

I heard straw houses mites easier, so I just stay away from it.

 

[I Love Layers]

We went to church in Fairfield today. Stopped at a relatives barn where we used to store some stuff, this relative now lives in Arizona. It would be a perfect coop though!! There's 3 areas, two are probably 10x15 and the other is 15x15.
It would be awesome if I could have it

 

[duluthralphie]

We went to church in Fairfield today. Stopped at a relatives barn where we used to store some stuff, this relative now lives in Arizona. It would be a perfect coop though!! There's 3 areas, two are probably 10x15 and the other is 15x15.
It would be awesome if I could have it

Remind me to never tell you when I leave on vacation or anything!

 

[duluthralphie]

 

[duluthralphie]

@duluthralphie , I think call ducks would compliment your coops nicely. They're so petite that at night you could bring them in to cuddle with you in bed. You could convert a sweatshirt pocket into a Call Duck pouch and bring them with you everywhere.

I think you have me confused with Jerry, He is the one that likes to keep a chicken in his pocket.

EJB is the one that likes to take them on long trips and make them find their own way home...





Which makes me think we should start a Homing Duck races.. We take them someplace and make them find their own way home. We could start with a short race from a coyote infested field in No Dak, and see how long it takes for them to get home.

This is the best Idea I have ever had! If your duck comes home you can be happy your duck finished the race. If your duck does not come home you can be even happier, because you have one less duck!!


A win win idea if there ever was one.

 

[lilbear412]

I put a good 5 or 6 inches of leaves in there. I will add more as the winter goes on. The deep litter method they say you should go 12 inches. Well i figure it will be there by may. lol I put a sandtable up and a roost on the extreme right over the table. It runs from the window on the right corner to a window you can't see.

oh and i have 6 chickens..all hens.

 

[lvie]

I put a good 5 or 6 inches of leaves in there. I will add more as the winter goes on. The deep litter method they say you should go 12 inches. Well i figure it will be there by may. lol I put a sandtable up and a roost on the extreme right over the table. It runs from the window on the right corner to a window you can't see.

oh and i have 6 chickens..all hens.

That coops looks as if it could qualify as nice. When you dump you leaves in the coop do you do anything to treat them for mites? I like the idea of mixing the leaves in but as I said previously I think it brought the mites into the flock. I had never had a mite issue before using the leaves. Leaves, pine shavings and pine needles seems like it would be a good mix.