whole lot of coop questions...

[Desiree82]

Hoping my coop image shows. Still not done. So I've been reading on a lot of threads and apparently have more questions. My first coop we are building 8X4. Still needs more ventilation. But its all plywood, i was thinking of doing the DL method inside the structure. Ive read a few different ways that different people do it. So any advice would be appecriated. I was going to put vinyl or linoleum on the floor, on top of the plywood, and put 4 inches of wood (pine) chips. (Can i use branches from the wooded area, chip them up in the chipper) didnt know if the pine was best or not. Throw some scrap on the floor to have the chickens help stir it. And some wood ash from fires we have. Do i just throw in a little here and there? And i stir when needed. Also add mowed grass clippings. The inside of the coop is a blank canvas right now, i was going to put roosting bars and poop trays under them. We live in central IL. Also, we have 5 chicks, about 2.5 months old, planning on getting more soon. Is my structure too big for the amount i have to accomplish DL. Ive heard putting straw on the floor is not very good since its hard to break down, unless shredded up. Also the poop trays, show i just have trays in there with nothing, or is sand the best? Also we will be building an extended run. Originally we were going to do chain link, but out neighbor had a predator kill some chickens during the day, so now i am scared to do that. (There is an area under the coop with 1/2 in and that will be closed off from the extended run at dusk ) Sorry for all the questions, feeling overwhelmed with all the info i have been reading and trying to start on the right foot

 

[ChickenMammX4]

I'm new to chickens too and agree it can all be overwhelming It seemed the more I read, the more I realized I didn't know. But the wonderful people on this forum have helped and I'm feeling more confident as my chicks seem to be thriving.

We have (6) 8 week old chicks. 2 Buff Orpington, 4 Black Sex Link, not small chickens at maturity. Heck, they aren't small now! Our coop's living area is 8' x 9' with a 8' x 16' run. We could probably add a couple more hens, but I like the room they have. We have many predators so our run is covered (metal roof) and enclosed entirely with 1/2" hardware cloth.

Inside we have pine shavings on the floor and Sweet PDZ on the poop board. Zero odor.
The floor is OSB painted with DeckOver. Many people use vinyl.

There was a bin filled with wood ash on the floor for "bathing" but I've moved it outdoors in the run now that the run is finished. The new "bath" is larger and I mixed some peat moss and DE with the ash.

We're going to try the DLM in our run. Right now it's grass but as soon as that's gone I'm going to add pine shavings, straw and grass clipping. Leaves this fall. I was thinking about sand but I'm worried about it's use in cold weather (freezing/thawing/mess).

 

[B-Goock]

I don't know what the cost is for linolium but I picked up some sheets of plastic at home depot. http://www.homedepot.com/p/PLASTEX-1-16-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Plastic-Panel-63003/202090190

HD also has some nice vents for cheap! http://www.homedepot.com/b/Heating-...nded/Ntt-vent?Ntx=mode+matchpartialmax&NCNI-5

I use pine chips. I know cedar isn't a good choice because it can cause respiratory problems. Other species of wood you might want to research. With making your own chips you would want them to be dry. Moisture in the coop causes problems so I wouldn't use grass clippings.

 

[goodb]

Inside the coop, the dryer, the better. That's why the deep (or built-up) litter works. It dries the poo. Keep the grass clippings and wet leaves in the run, dry stuff inside.

 

[Blooie]

I'm new to chickens too and agree it can all be overwhelming

It seemed the more I read, the more I realized I didn't know. But the wonderful people on this forum have helped and I'm feeling more confident as my chicks seem to be thriving.

We have (6) 8 week old chicks. 2 Buff Orpington, 4 Black Sex Link, not small chickens at maturity. Heck, they aren't small now! Our coop's living area is 8' x 9' with a 8' x 16' run. We could probably add a couple more hens, but I like the room they have. We have many predators so our run is covered (metal roof) and enclosed entirely with 1/2" hardware cloth.

Inside we have pine shavings on the floor and Sweet PDZ on the poop board. Zero odor.
The floor is OSB painted with DeckOver. Many people use vinyl.

There was a bin filled with wood ash on the floor for "bathing" but I've moved it outdoors in the run now that the run is finished. The new "bath" is larger and I mixed some peat moss and DE with the ash.

We're going to try the DLM in our run. Right now it's grass but as soon as that's gone I'm going to add pine shavings, straw and grass clipping. Leaves this fall. I was thinking about sand but I'm worried about it's use in cold weather (freezing/thawing/mess).

Why wait until the grass is gone? Go ahead and start your DL now....the microbes in the soil and the grass will give it a real good head start! That's what I was advised to do and it was a great suggestion. I haven't regretted it one bit.

@Desiree82 All of things are good. Small twigs give air space to your litter, and air helps with the decomposition process. So do dried leaves, any vegetative matter, and the pine shavings. Straw does tend to stay intact rather than break down well, but it does add much needed carbon material and air space to the litter so it doesn't hurt to put a little down. Pine shavings break down slowly, but they do break down.

Wet isn't good in the coop, but an occasional infusion of moisture helps with the breakdown as well. I kept mine way too dry, and the dust was ridiculous. The pine shavings looked the same after months in there as they did when I put them down - just dirtier. Once I started adding a quick and fine spray of water every couple of weeks, I started getting better breakdown. I use deep litter in both the coop and the run. I just finished the yearly cleaning, leaving some of the original litter to jump start the new stuff. A lot depends on your climate - I live in an area designated as semi-desert, so we are dry, dry, dry here. In more humid climates the spraying every couple weeks might not be needed for you. Good luck with your Littles!

 

[rhoffart]

Well I'll throw in my 2 cents ... Sweet PDZ in the poop tray and sand in the floor of the coop and 1/2 hardware cloth to enclose the run. Two years ago I was where you are today. I clean my coop every Sunday and it takes me about an hour, tops. I spent hours researching these issues, and I'm super happy I did. In two years I never replaced the sand in the coop, yes never. I have had between 6 to 10 chickens at a time. I have no flies very little odor only really a day or two before cleaning. I can't imagine how much work and time I have saved. I truly believe it's the only way to go ... also I added a little DE to the sand, it keeps bugs and mites away. Other than my English Mastiff eating a few I never had a sick chicken, no bumble feet, nothing but happy chickens. Oh and my entire enclosed run has about 3 inches of sand as well.

My build ... https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/758453/well-we-did-it-first-ever-chickens-coop-build

Video ...

Video cleaning ...

 

[Blooie]

Yep, a lot of folks using sand really like it. It sounds like you are one of them, and that's great! Won't work for me - I'm in Northern Wyoming and when we hit 20 to 30 below for a couple of weeks at a time that makes for a real hard landing zone when they fly off the roosts. I had a poop board with PDZ going too. Actually I really liked it, too. Took no time at all to use my little handmade scoop and get the poop off. But a wise friend, Beekissed, asked me why I was trying to do deep litter but shoveling the poop off the board and tossing it in a bucket to add to the compost pile. Poop is one of the ingredients for successful deep litter and I was taking it out of there, leaving mostly the carbon stuff and removing the nitrogen rich stuff. Well, doggone it, no wonder the litter in the run was breaking down better than the litter in the coop! The run got more moisture and poop than the coop did. It was better balanced. I'm happy to report that I have no odor or fly problems either.

I guess if you put 100 chicken owners in a room and asked them one question, you'd probably get 98 different answers.

If there was one "right" way to do it all this entire forum would be one page long and could be read in a few minutes. So for me the right answer is to try stuff that fits my situation, and when folks ask I just tell them what I did. They can read through all of the answers and choose the one that they'd like check into further. Sand may very well be the best answer in this case. Glad you mentioned it - I didn't even think of it!

 

[Desiree82]

Thanks so much for the responses. So when i do put the chickens in the new house, since i only have 5, should i put a poop tray under their roost? Because the DL is based on their waste as well? Or maybe I'm misunderstanding.

Also one more question, do i have to put a heat lamp in during winter? I read how chickens naturally adapt to the weather, food is heat, etc... as long as i keep the drafts away, try and build a wind blocker, keep dry and ventilated well. I feel like i am making this so confusing for myself. But i also dont want to have sick chicks. Again thanks for eveybodys responses