What to put on coop floor?

[rosyposyosy]

right now i am using straw, but the bale is now gone scattered in the run and all along the coop floor.on another thread, they said this was a no-no. Should I use pine shavings, sand, mixture of both? (Inside the coop, I usually get rid of the straw outside once they stop playing with it or it gets smelly)


Also, this is kind of unrelated, but right now my chickens are using quart sized feeders/waterers, are there any problems with this besides I have to change it like every 2 days?

 

[silkiechicken]

Well, my straw gets everywhere, is wet, and just composts but my situation for them is different than I remember your's being. If it works for you, and it isn't stinky, stay with what you are doing. There is no golden rules of any kind. As for your feeders, if they are lasting two days, that's fine. I fill food and water every other day. Do what works for you.

 

[AtRendeAcres]

I tried straw & wood chips and I was constantly changing it ((I hang out in my coop & watch them STRESS reliever))

you are suppose to turn it and add more as needed & add DE or PDZ for smell!

you clean out once or twice a year ((really good for composting & warmth in winter for chickens))

didn't work for me

so I went to sand I love it I add DE & PDZ and sift with old screen ((I do this every other day because I am in there someone else might feel this is more work)) but, I do lose the warmth for chickens(so I will be insulating my North wall soon!

you have find what will work for you!

Feeders are fine ((again it is finding what works for you)) I use the small ones because they look forward to seeing me!!

when I get busy I use the big ones!

 

[MissPrissy]

My floor is covered with nearly a foot of hay and pine shavings. I sprinkle it liberally with food grade DE. I turn it over and mix it up as needed. Under the roosts and the nest boxes is filled with pine shavings. I mix them up and change them as needed so far they have never needed it. My barn doesn't have an odor nor are there any flies. The Deep Litter Method works really well for me. My main hen house is about 25ft by 25ft I shouldn't have to change it out until next summer when I will start all over again with the same process. Here is a link to post where we were just discussing this yesterday.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=19106

 

[rosyposyosy]

I'm thinking pine shavings and sand. Thanks for the help.


EDIT: just called the local feedstore, well, the good one anyways. They don't carry sand. I'm going to try Home Depot.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I use wood shavings with DE and Dry Stall mixed in...I don't have any problems at all...There are 24 chickens in my coop......

 

[rosyposyosy]

I just called my nearest feed store who usually doesnt have anything, for anything. They have reptile sand, but if i was looking for "playground sand" I should call a lumber store. The guy was very helpful and said that he has gotten sand from the parr lumber up the street.

I called parr lumber, and they have 60 lb bags for only $3.09!

I also have to go to the other feed store for some bigger feeders, and a pine shavings bale... but still, its all very local.

with sand and pine shavings do I have to add DE? I thought DE was for mites and deworming, why would I have to put DE in?

 

[PDXChickGirl]

If you need food grade DE, I just found some at Concentrates in Portland today (on SE 8th, just south of Division). It may still be a hike from Forest Grove, though. I had a hard time finding it here because no one was "for sure" what they carried was food grade. Even Portland Nursery had never heard of food grade DE. Concentrates calls it "feed grade" and it's $17 for a 50lb bag. I have a sand run, so I'm planning on mixing DE and Stall-Dry into the sand this weekend since we've finally had a day of dry weather! (btw - they have a lot of types organic feed as well).

 

[greginshasta]

rosyposyosy - a better source of sand, in terms of cost, is your local concrete yard or landscaping supply.

Sand in a bag is relatively expensive. For the cost of a few bags, you could get a large bulldozer scoop dumped into a pickup or trailer, assuming you have access to that. There will typically be a variety of grades of sand, from fine to course.

 

[LisaJean]

I have similar questions. I have the Chick-N-Barn and run, and per My Pet CHickens instructions, am going to put hardware cloth on the bottom of both the coop and the run to prevent digging predators.

My question is, can the chickens just walk on the hardware cloth with the grass underneath, or will that hurt their feet? It seems like it would be painful to walk on hardware cloth most of the day.