Vinyl Flooring - Is it too slippery?

[aart]

I've read in several places that some think that vinyl flooring is slippery with straw or pine shavings on it.

Those who use vinyl flooring, please give your input and what kind of bedding you use.

TIA

 

[nab58]

Am also curious to see responses from those who use vinyl. I bought a roll and will be installing it into my coop as soon as its ready....hopefully within a week or so.

 

[R_Chickens]

We used a sheet of thick vinyl flooring on our coop and are quite pleased with it.

However- use caution for slippery surface.

A few tips.

1. When putting it down, we stapled it in spots throughout and on the sides (ran edges up the wall about 6"-8" as that was the size with no cutting). Be sure to push the flooring completely against the edges, especially in the corners, as it will NOT stretch to fill any gaps, tearing instead. It should be more like a skin for the floor and corners with the vinyl pushed tightly into the corner. If the corners look rounded instead of square, you need to push more material into it before fastening.

2. When maneuvering the flooring into place, be aware that it is VERY SLIPPERY! Not just because of the surface, but it will move around on the floor, too. Use caution, then staple it to the floor. Yes, staples make holes in the vinyl- about 1/16" so nothing to worry about.

3. We use the deep litter method, cleaning it all out about every other year. Ended up with about 12-18" of bedding and composted bedding at that time. Had one spot near the waterer that was a bit crusty on top (told us it was time to clean out), but the rest was fine. We DO use diatomaceous earth (food grade) too prevent bad bugs and never had a problem with ammonia smell.

4. We cover the floor initially with about 6-8" of bedding. If too thin, it WILL BE SLIPPERY! The thicker amount does quite nicely, but still be cautious for the first day or so until the chickens pack it down a bit.

We have had this for about 3 years and are quite pleased with the results. The flooring makes cleaning VERY easy when it comes time. We used a pitch fork initially, being careful not to poke the floor. The thinner stuff that falls through the forks we left there, about 2" worth to continue the composting (good bacteria) per the deep litter method recommendations.

Pretty simple, actually. Given a choice, we would do it again, exactly the same way. We would turn it a little bit more throughout the year to prevent a few crusty spots.

Hope this helps!

 

[Weasleymum]

I'm not sure if you mean for the chickens, or for people. Our coop is just a little 3'x4' tractor, and the floor is covered with vinyl, with pine shavings underneath. None of the chickens have ever seemed to find it slippery. I think it might be harder for humans, if you have a full-size, walk-in coop, but I can't say from experience.

 

[duckman14]

I just put vinyl down in my new 4'x8' coop I'm building this morning. I'm going to use pine shavings for now but as soon as the snow melts I'm goin to haul in a truckload of sand and cover my floor with 2 or 3 inces. But I figure the vinyl will protect the wood. I did also put DE down under the vinyl.

 

[aggiemae]

Remember that if you try something and it doesn't work out you can always change it until you find out what works for you.

After trying pine shavings and hay and finding that both got pretty stinky and attracted flies I now cover the floor with 2" of stall dry (volcanic sand). It dries out to poop very quickly so we don't get poop in the nest boxes. It takes maybe a minute or two a day to clean up using a cat litter scoop. I don't have the work of replacing all the used floor bedding all at once, I just replace the sand that I toss with the poop every now and then.

The best thing is that the coop doesn't stink and doesn't attract flies and believe me this is very important if you want to use your urban backyard for anything besides "farming".

I want to add: 1. we don't have food or water in my coop so I am not sure if it would work quite as well to reduce flies if the "Stall Dry" got wet or had organic matter (other than poop ) mixed into it. 2. sand gets does get very cold in thew winter so, unless you live in a temperate climate, you might have to put a few inches of pine shavings in the coop in the winter to help insulate the floor.

 

[aart]

Thanks for the feedback...I'm wondering if just a bit a of sand under what ever bedding would provide some traction and wear the slickness off the vinyl

 

[R_Chickens]

A key thing to remember about pine shavings over linoleum is that if it isn't deep enough, it will be slippery.

We start out with about 10" as a base. It will pack down quickly, so be sure to keep at least 6-8" on the floor.

If it smells and you aren't skimping on the pine shavings, add some DE, which also helps dry it some. Check to see if too much rain is blowing in the coop.

What we learning about smell is this:

1. Ammonia smell - needs more bedding
2. Musty smell - too damp
3. Poop smell but not ammonia - add some DE and add a little fresh shavings
4. Surface is getting crusty - turn it over and break up a bit with a pitch fork, then add some DE and fresh shavings

Note that none of this involved removing or replacing the bedding in the deep litter method.

BTW, the above was learned from others and has certainly proven true in our experience. Hope it is as helpful to you as it has been for us

 

[bj taylor]

I have heavy breed birds. I use the deep litter method. I notice as they jump down from the roost they displace the litter & the vinyl is exposed. they can slip on that. I just keep an eye out for this & push the litter back in place.
I love the vinyl floor - it makes cleaning so easy

 

[urbanchicken9]

We are new to backyard chickens and are currently building our coop and this thread is answering many questions we had. However, what does DE mean?