TOTAL Novice

[Amylouiseschueler]

Ok I am going to sound so stupid as new to all this....

I live in a terraced house in a town. Long garden. At the back is shaded and sheltered and picking up this chicken run/coop later. As the back of my garden is paved can i cover it in a layer of compost and put coop/run on top and put straw in the little house part. Possibly make a cover out of tarpaulin and screw to the roof to protect from rain.

Would this work?

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

How big is that? I'm assuming your getting chickens if so how many? I would not worry to much about pavement in the run as for bedding large wood shaving would be good because I hear in warmer areas mites like to live in straw. the tarp over the roof would work fine. but it boils down to how big is that and how many chickens are you getting.

 

[Amylouiseschueler]

Can i put wood shavings down over the concrete for comfort? Not 100% sure on size. Was thinking 1 to start then increase to 2.

Sounds silly whete do you get chickens lol. Sorry to sound thick.

 

[Amylouiseschueler]

Or just wood shavings in house bit?

 

[Mraya]

Chickens are flock animals I would start with 2 one to keep the other company.
Wood shavings in the coop would be fine and it smells nice too. For the run you could use wood chips or leaves or sand.

Edit: If your coop and run are big enough for 2
Do not get cedar shavings use pine shavings

 

[Amylouiseschueler]

Thank you. I'll give it a try. Would it be a sprinkling or layer of wood chips? I was told chickens need a mud base not concrete for better eggs

 

[Mraya]

Thank you. I'll give it a try. Would it be a sprinkling or layer of wood chips? I was told chickens need a mud base not concrete for better eggs

A Layer of wood chips.
I have never heard that chickens need a mud base for better eggs. Chickens need good nutrition for better eggs.

 

[Amylouiseschueler]

Can i buy wood chips

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

I use hard wood chips or gravel in my run and they are good with it. shaving is great in the coop and yes it smells nice. a mud base for better eggs? ok who told you that? as long as a chicken gets fresh water,fed and is free of illness they eggs will be fine. it also depends on breed for egg laying abilities. I personally would not get 1 as stated they are social animals 2 is good 3 is better thats just incase something happends to one.

again do you know the size of the run and house? sorry to me it look hardly big enough for one chicken. keep in mind rule of thumb for space for chickens is 4 sq ft coop space per bird and 10 sq ft run space per bird for medium to large chickens. and about half of that for small bantam type breeds you might get away with smaller coop space if the run is really large or they get to free range.

 

[Mraya]

Can i put wood shavings down over the concrete for comfort? Not 100% sure on size. Was thinking 1 to start then increase to 2.

Sounds silly whete do you get chickens lol. Sorry to sound thick.

We were all new to chickens once. You don't sound thick