Why do we need bedding underneath perches?

[RebsChooks]

My new Arkus plastic coop arrives tomorrow, and unlike in my current wooden coop my hens will have to perch. Right now they can either perch or sit on the floor in the bedding just underneath.

So I am thinking, why bother with bedding material? To save cleaning tasks yet keep it clean, could I not put newspaper underneath the perches and take a sheet off the top each morning to dispose of the night’s poo?

I read a lot about bedding material under the perches but I can’t understand what it is actually for. Nest boxes need to be cosy, and mine will be but just thinking of under the perches.

Please advise

 

[PrettyChickens15]

I have actually never thought about why we use bedding
I would guess bc of poop and possibly warmth in the colder months. I would still put bedding under the roost to help cushion the landing when they fly down from the roost, but I think what you said would work fine too.

I have never heard of a plastic chickens coop? What is that like?

 

[The Phantom]

The bedding takes away the poop smell. It also stays clean longer. When I used newspapers for my quail I would have to clean it out every day, but with bedding , once a week.

 

[The Phantom]

Plus it makes the coop cozy.

 

[RebsChooks]

Maybe I just take issue with the word “bedding” as it implies they sleep in it, and they don’t. Poo-catching material, maybe?!

I have always used bedding but after recent red mite infestation I have changed it so frequently for repeated treatments that I feel it is all a bit of a waste of money!

 

[PirateGirl]

I think of it more as litter than bedding. It absorbs the moisture from the poop, they poop while on their perches at night. It's the only place I really ever put pine shavings. It helps things dry out. It makes it so I can just scoop/sweep out the nasties with a dustpan and brush and keeps the moisture/poop from soaking into the floorboards and rotting out the coop. Some people use poop boards instead. It all depends your setup. Whatever works for you to keep things sanitary. Additionally if you compost you need "brown" material and "green" material for the compost process to work properly and give you good neutral soil for your garden. The pine shavings and chicken poop are opposites and cancel each other out in this way and when mixed together make for good compost. Also, as others have mentioned, it's added insulation in winter.

 

[The Phantom]

Pine shavings is what I use for "bedding".

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some people use bedding, some don't. There are always different ways to deal with any issue. What you are talking about is a quick and easy way to remove the poop build-up under the roosts each day. You might think of bedding as a diaper. It absorbs the moisture so the poop dries out so you don't have to change it out all that often. In your situation you probably don't want bedding.

I don't think a layer of newspaper is the right thing for you. My main concern is that they are likely to hop down there and scratch it ti bits. No just removing a layer at a time. But also some of that poop may be moist enough and heavy enough that the sheet of newspaper can't just be just picked up, it is likely to tear.

I don't know what that coop looks like so some of my ideas will not be practical, hopefully some will. I have a flat piece of plywood under my roosts, it's the top of my built-in brooder. I don't scrape it every day, I don't need to, but some people would. If you paint it, it can be easier to scrape.

Others build a shallow box under their roosts and put sand, PDZ, or something else in there. They use some type of scoop to pick the biggest chunks of poop out.

You might be able to hang a hammock under the roosts. Maybe plastic or canvass. Rig it so you can unhook it and take it outside to clean it.

You might put bins under the roosts to collect the poop. Pick them up and dump them. If you have room this could be a really easy way.

If you are going to be cleaning daily I would not use bedding of any type. If you are only going to be cleaning out occasionally bedding is great.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Can you show us a picture of your “plastic coop?” Does it get super hot in the summer heat??? I know my plastic lounge chairs are scolding hot....I can’t imagine what the inside of your coop feels like!!

 

[MissChick@dee]

If you don’t have perches they will have dirty-poopie butts. They poop a lot at night. And will poop right where they lay-sleep. This will lead to many health problems you just don’t need. If your floor is wooden the poops which also includes their liquid waste will soon become wet and smelly and attractive to pest that will attack your hens while they sleep another problem you don’t need. In summer I spread a thin layer of bedding and use a dust pan to scoop it up and into the composter it goes. In winter I deep litter for warmth. Bedding to me is a associated with good coop keeping.