We run a herd of anywhere between 90- 140 depending on how hungry the local bobcats and hawks are. My coop is a 2 car garage sized building made out of 2 and 4 ton concete blocks. like you see at the landscape supply yard, the bins holding the bark and soil. Anyway, i use a dirt floor, and shavings, deep litter mixture. once a spring after the rains we shovel it out with the kubota, and start over.. occasionally we shovel the used chicken food that piles up in one of the special places where they roost. We have no Amonia issues and the coop is clean.
occassionally we will toss in some scratch so they can dig up the litter and redeposit it. In general our flock is clean no bugs and no sickness... we free range most of the time they only use the coop for evening activities and when its raining cats and dogs.
If you use wire for the flooring,, as time marches on and rust developes, it becomes really harsh for their feet to walk on. PLUS if critters can get under the wire they will attempt to pull a chicken thru it. DOnt ask how we know this... but coons are really good at pulling drumsticks off a bird. Just saying.. how would you like to walk on wire all the time?
Have fun..
Jack
occassionally we will toss in some scratch so they can dig up the litter and redeposit it. In general our flock is clean no bugs and no sickness... we free range most of the time they only use the coop for evening activities and when its raining cats and dogs.
If you use wire for the flooring,, as time marches on and rust developes, it becomes really harsh for their feet to walk on. PLUS if critters can get under the wire they will attempt to pull a chicken thru it. DOnt ask how we know this... but coons are really good at pulling drumsticks off a bird. Just saying.. how would you like to walk on wire all the time?
Have fun..
Jack
