What do I need for bedding?

[Chicken0Boy]

Ok, so my floor on my coop is plywood with 2x4 pressure treated wood under it. My question is what do I need for beeding? I really dont want the deep litter method, but I could use it. And The walls are built, so i can't add vinyl flooring to it. I want to clean it 1 time a month. What should I do for my beeding? Oh, and can I leave my run with just grass? (I know the chooks will tear up grass so just dirt)

Thanks in advance!

 

[jerseygirl1]

Wood shavings - if you don't want to use the deep cleaning method, cleaning it out once a month should work

 

[Tropical Chickies]

I use easy clean shavings. I have never had any problems with my chickens eating it. I clean my coop daily with a litter scoop as I can't stand the thought of walking into the coop if it was filthy...I get scared easily and would feel like things were touching me, LOL!!

Once the shavings get low, I remove all bedding and spray bleach and scrub away any poop stains. Everything inside my coop has been painted white with a latex exterior paint, so it is easy to clean and looks bright and airy.

I also just have a dirt run. It was once grass, but didn't last long at all. I add my grass clippings to the ground too and my girls love it.

Good luck!

 

[Chicken0Boy]

Thanks so much! When I said a monthly clean I meant a big clean not as big s a spring clean though! I will not be able to paint though so what should i do about that?

 

[Tropical Chickies]

Quote:
If you can't paint or seal with a polyurethane the inside then there is no other options as far as protecting the wood from rotting away eventually. My hubby is a painter contractor and said that is the best defense.

As far as being light and airy, windows are good!

I have been to a small backyard farm where they used the deep litter method and hadn't cleaned their coop for a year and it honestly wasn't bad. Maybe because their coop was completely open in the front with wire enclosure, so it was not scary to walk into. So I don't want to sound as though I was bashing anyone out there for going that route...or your method either

For me I am just a paranoid girl and scare easily, hehe!!

 

[fiberart57]

I used peel and stick tiles on the floor of mine after the walls were up. It has made cleaning much easier. If you have a Habitat for Humanity store they may have some.

I use pine shavings, not chips. My local feed store carries both and the shavings are easier to clean with a kitty litter scoop and/or a dog potty pick up bag. In addition, the shavings decompose quicker in my compost pile.

Mary

 

[Chicken0Boy]

Okay a few qs!

1) If I use a plywood floor with preasure treated lumber under it the plywood will rot away without paint?
2) I heard chickens will peal up those tiles right away. Is this true?
3) How many inches do I need to layer my floor with pine shavings?

Thanks!!!

My chicks are coming in 10 days!!!!!!!!!

 

[Chris09]

You will want to treat that plywood with something, I would recommend a good deck sealer like Homax Termin-8 H20 (it runs around $20.00 a gallon but it is good). Don't wast your money on Thompson's Water Seal it wont last....

We use builder sand on the floors of the coops and in the runs works great and cheaper than pine shavings..


Chris

 

[Chicken0Boy]

Okay well i can do that to the top, but I am going this weekend to the habitat for humanity store to get some sticky tiles! Could I do this, or do I need to still seal the plywood still?

 

[patandchickens]

Those self-stick tiles are apt to come up. If the surface underneath is not properly prepared, or the wood gets lingering dampness, they can come up real soon. I would not personally bother with them.

If you have some scrap vinyl flooring (like, for free - I am not suggesting you buy it) you can staplegun it down and it will be a reasonable solution. It is FINE that you've already put the walls on, it is actually better to put vinyl down AFTER the walls are up rather than to run it under their sills.

Honestly though the thing that makes the most sense is to get some cheap-or-free paint remnants and paint the floor. If you can do deck sealer you can do paint; and paint is arguably better and certainly easier to come by "cheap or free". Several thin coats, on a tack-cloth-wiped surface.

How long totally naked untreated uncovered plywood lasts would depend on how much moisture is there. But it is easy to have waterer spills, rain blowing in, mud tracked in, etc... also they WILL scratch some of the floor bare at times (esp. if you are trying to chintz on bedding) and poo will cement itself down much worse to bare wood than to painted.

How much bedding to start with is a matter of personal taste, but I would suggest something in the realm of 2-4" at least, more if you have bare unpainted plywood.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat