What would you put on wood floor in large garden shed (like a Tuff shed)?

[elove]

So I've always kept mine in a more "traditional" coop on the ground and brought in DG and sand and raked. But now I'm reading that vinyl flooring is toxic to chickens. This isn't a concern?

 

[aart]

But now I'm reading that vinyl flooring is toxic to chickens. This isn't a concern?

Any new vinyl needs to off gas, shouldn't take more than a week.

 

[TOMTE]

Any new vinyl needs to off gas, shouldn't take more than a week.

This, and be careful with any heat lamps over the vinyl. The heat, if too close, also causes more of the toxic gases to escape. But it shouldn't be an issue if you give enough time to off all of the gases

 

[Sammster]

If you could do this, starting with a wood floor, what would you do with unlimited funds - blue sky ideas but it has to be easy to clean/low maintenance. He works full-time and doesn't have much help. TIA

I stapled vinyl to my painted floor. Then - I use coarse sand (probably 4") that my local sand and gravel guy brings to me. I tell him it's for my coop, and he knows exactly what I need (it's also used in my run). Clean up is a snap with these tools. I do it daily, and it takes just couple minutes. You don't have to do it daily - that's just me. I use the "circled" scoop in the 2nd image to scoop the droppings into the long-handled cat litter shovel in the 1st image. Then I use the pan and rake to clean up yard poops after the girls get free-range time.

 

[Sally PB]

up high?

Yes, up at the peak. That style of roof is difficult to add ventilation to. You want the openings up high, above the birds' heads when they're on the roost. Their moist, warm breath and ammonia fumes both rise, and ventilation in the roof gives them a place to vent out.

 

[ducksatthepoint]

Vinyl sheet flooring or linoleum with no ridges and going up the wall a foot or so. Then something like the horse pellets as bedding on top.

Yes I agree that makes it very easy to spray out. I use roofing paper the lightweight #15 and the shredded straw. Not too much is needed. Then you can just roll up the roofing paper and put it in the trash. I used two pieces side by side to cover the floor of my duck house. I also buy heavy duty poster board and bend about 4 in up and crease it and I put that on top of the linoleum all the way around the edges then lay the roofing paper down and add the straw. Very easy to clean even in the dead of winter to dump it all out and start fresh from the linoleum up.

 

[Mark Park]

I have a friend with a brand new 12x24 garden shed he wants to house chickens in. I'm gonna say a LOT (#?) of chickens. Money isn't a concern but ease of cleaning is. Automatic doors that open/close with the sun to be installed, access to grass, etc. But while winters aren't long, there is almost always a few days the gals will be locked inside 48-72 hrs due to ice. If you could do this, starting with a wood floor, what would you do with unlimited funds - blue sky ideas but it has to be easy to clean/low maintenance. He works full-time and doesn't have much help. TIAView attachment 3971134

I wouldn't worry too much about the ice. If they can get back inside they will manage it themselves. On the whole chickens can tolerate a lot of cold. You can put some wind screen up against the fence to keep them from getting cold, if you like, but they are less sensitive to cold than most people think. Make sure their water doesn't freeze.

This is a really nice shed. I would make a couple of changes. Firstly, ventilation. The more ventilation the better. At least put some chicken wire over the windows so you can leave them open.

I would also give them some perches. They prefer roosting on perches to sitting on shelves or on the ground. Rounding the corners of some 2x2s works well. If you put them above those shelves it will make it easy to clean. It's good to have about 8" or more per chicken. Put some trays or something else pn the shelves to makebthem easier to clean.

You will need some nest boxes too. One for every 4 chickens is good. If you build them, slope the roof or make some other arrangement so they can't sit on top of them and get them dirty.

You can't pressure wash this shed. That insulation on the walls won't stand it. They might eat it too. It also looks like there are plenty of places for mites to hide. I like the vinyl floor idea some people have suggested. Maybe get some laminate faced 1/4" inch plywood for the walls, so you can pressure wash them and to get rid of the the hiding places for the mites. Alternatively just put some 1/4 inch plywood up and cover it with vinyl sheet flooring when you do the floor.

Wooden sheds are also easy for rats and mice to chew into. The raised wooden floor also turns into a rat house. Before you put the vinyl on the floor, screw a roll of galvanized metal to it with drywall screws. You can find it in the roofing secrion at home depot. They can't get through that. Run it up the wall for a couple of feet too.

If you want to have eggs all winter put some bright lights in it and put them on a timer to extend the daylight into the evening.

Fence the yard at least 6' high with chicken wire or hardware cloth. You don't need to dig it into a trench. Laying 2 feet of it on top of the ground and sewing it to the foot of the fence with clips, wire, or zip ties will keep the predators out. Before you know it the grass will grow through the 2' of fabric you laid on the ground.

 

[SueT]

I have 2 wooden floored coops--one has shavings over the wood, the other has sand. Both work just fine.

 

[WindyCityCoop]

We've used horse bedding pellets for 8 years in our coop and that's what I'd suggest. They keep the coop dry and odor free, zero maintenance if there's enough chickens scratching them around, and we don't change them out but once a year, in the spring. They're pretty cheap at around $8 for 40#. You can get them at TSC or any farm store. We use 3.5 bags for 60 square feet, going about 2-3" deep.

This summer we tried them in our brooders and that was a game changer!

That is a beautiful coop!

I looked into horse bedding pellets, but they looked too much like chicken pellets...I was afraid the chickens would mistake them for their feed so I never tried.

 

[TOMTE]

I looked into horse bedding pellets, but they looked too much like chicken pellets...I was afraid the chickens would mistake them for their feed so I never tried.

My girls don't eat the bedding pellets but I see where some chickens might have a brain fart and mistake them for food. The wood pellets are much larger than food pellets though, and they smell and probably feel and taste different from food.

I've watched mine pick the pellet bedding up in their beaks to examine it and then drop it and walk away after a few tests. One thing I've learned is chickens are not completely helpless, even if they can be a little slow sometimes

I love wood pellet bedding. It's so absorbent and it smells great. Plus it's really light so if you need to haul buckets of it off to compost, your arms aren't gonna fall off!