What are you putting on your coop floor this winter???

[Delphinium]

I currently use sand (on top of linoleum) and I love it. It is so easy to clean and doesn't smell. With our cold winters (it's already been getting down into the upper 20's at night) I plan to take the sand out of the coop and put it in the run. Then I'll put several inches of pine shavings in the coop for the winter and add as needed. Next spring I plan to get more sand for the coop.

 

[Blissinged]

Right now, we're using pine shavings over our chicken coop, which is made of plastic.

 

[NicInNC]

I'm aware of pine shavings...we used to use that before we started using sand. We still use pine shavings in their nesting boxes though. I may get some bales of the pine straw (we call it pine needles) for the outside part of their run because it gets messy out there when we have lots of rain.

 

[cressrb]

Ok, I found the Pine Straw and also bought sand. Our coop will set on the dirt. I was going to put sand first and then Pine straw over the top.
Reading further posts now, it sounds like that is not a good idea. Is this right? I should just use pine straw and layer as needed?
Our coop is up, I have the food, pine straw, sand, and still am a little confused as to what I am doing. I am probably making this way too hard.

Concerning food dishes. Since our coop is small and we only will have five hens, how do the plastic clip on dishes work?
When I was picking up supplies at IFA, a gal said don't even worry about food dishes, just throw it on the ground for them. Is that
really adequate?

Bonnie
Salt Lake City, Ut

 

[FlipFlopFarmer]

i put the food in a dish and let them eat out of there and scatter and forage later for what they want. i put treats like cooked rice on the ground. I use a lil dish that is made of bird cages ( parrots and such), it goes on the chicken's side of the wire and has a bolt that goes through the wire and a piece of plastic and a wing nut that secures it from the outside. No drilling, or anything extra required, and the cup is removable without unscrewing the bolt every time. I have one for food and one for oyster shell in most of my coops.

 

[cressrb]

Ok, thank you. I think that is what I will do for food dishes since I have such few hens.

Still confused about putting sand down first and pine straw over that.

Bonnie

 

[nczookeeper]

My coop is 8 x 10 - I started with just pine shavings on the floor, but it was costing 9.00 every other week, so changed that up fast. Now the side where they have their food, water and nesting boxes are all pine shavings (wood shavings) nice and plush, the side under their roosts is pine straw (pine needles) which I purchased for 3.99 a bale at Lowes Home Improvement. This will save me 5.00 a month - which I can spend on something else for the girls. . .by the time they start laying, they are gonna be some expensive eggs