Do I need bedding on the coop floor ?

[Loving my girls]

Hi,
I have read a lot on this site about bedding inside the coop. The thing is that I have never used any and the question is should I ?

I have an automatic door so they are only inside during the night (depending on the lux reading aka how light it is)
The poop shelf if 70cm (27”) from the floor and 70cm deep.
They have a plank with the rungs at 40 ish degrees so not a steep slope.
The floor is concrete covered with a thick and slightly spongy vinyl.
They don’t use it at all during the day as I have a large area (about an acre) that they free range which includes a small wood.
Their food is outside and drinkers are all over the place for them.

I clean the poop tray everyday with water and then cidre vinaigre.
I clear all the poops off the floor (there are rarely any). I wash the floor with water and last wipe with the vinaigre about once a week in the winter two or three times a week in the summer.
Any obvious dirt on the walls is removed on a daily basis.

Appart from the fact that I am obsessed with keeping my coop clean. What do you think ?

I have hemp shavings in the nest boxes so if you think I should have something on the floor what would you recommend?

This has turned out longer than expected but the welcome any advice you can offer

The photos show how it was before the poop shelf was lowered and the ladder changed. The roosting bars are at a 45 degree angle. Soon I will be doubling the size as I am having a major extension.

Thank you so much for any advice you can give.

 

[LaFleche]

Are your birds bantam or standard sized? And how many are they?

 

[Loving my girls]

Are your birds bantam or standard sized? And how many are they?

They’re medium breed and I have eight, the pouallier is currently 3m x2.9 (the photo is deceiving) and it is being extended to 6m x 3.3m

 

[DobieLover]

I would bed the coop down. It makes for easier landing on their feet/legs and it absorbs the moisture from their poops. If they have no bedding, there will be nothing to absorb the moisture and it will also keep their feet dirty and could be slippery.

Your roosts are spaced very close together and very close to the wall. That will lead to poop splatter on the wall and them pooping on each other.

The little dust bath should be outside or removed entirely. When they dust bathe they flip and flop around and make a huge mess. And they like to do that all piled in together. They couldn't really fit together it such a small container. They tend to find their own places to dig dust baths.

Also, ladders are very hard to navigate and the one in your coop is very steep. I would replace it with a ramp made out of a solid board with 1x2 cleats attached to it that are spaced about 6-7" apart and prop the end up on a cinder block or something similar to reduce the slope.

 

[Loving my girls]

I would bed the coop down. It makes for easier landing on their feet/legs and it absorbs the moisture from their poops. If they have no bedding, there will be nothing to absorb the moisture and it will also keep their feet dirty and could be slippery.

I only get about one poop on the floor a week and the hen house has large windows on three sides. The humidity meter doesn’t show any problem with humidity, in fact it’s probably better than our house. This being the case and baring in mind the height of the poop shelf now 70cm and the fact I clean them out every day what would you recommend as floor bedding ?

Your roosts are spaced very close together and very close to the wall. That will lead to poop splatter on the wall and them pooping on each other.

Yes, I agree. They do huddle. I do get wall splatter from time to time but the extension will fix this problem.

The little dust bath should be outside or removed entirely. When they dust bathe they flip and flop around and make a huge mess. And they like to do that all piled in together. They couldn't really fit together it such a small container. They tend to find their own places to dig dust baths.

This wasn’t a dust bath and has been removed.

Also, ladders are very hard to navigate and the one in your coop is very steep. I would replace it with a ramp made out of a solid board with 1x2 cleats attached to it that are spaced about 6-7" apart and prop the end up on a cinder block or something similar to reduce the slope.

As I said in my post the ladder has been replaced.

 

[LaFleche]

I would bed the coop down. It makes for easier landing on their feet/legs and it absorbs the moisture from their poops. If they have no bedding, there will be nothing to absorb the moisture and it will also keep their feet dirty and could be slippery.

Your roosts are spaced very close together and very close to the wall. That will lead to poop splatter on the wall and them pooping on each other.

The little dust bath should be outside or removed entirely. When they dust bathe they flip and flop around and make a huge mess. And they like to do that all piled in together. They couldn't really fit together it such a small container. They tend to find their own places to dig dust baths.

Also, ladders are very hard to navigate and the one in your coop is very steep. I would replace it with a ramp made out of a solid board with 1x2 cleats attached to it that are spaced about 6-7" apart and prop the end up on a cinder block or something similar to reduce the slope.

All this is what I was about to comment, @DobieLover just covered it all.

I use a thick layer of soft wood shavings as bedding, in the nestboxes too, which will have little stones and other debris they carry in on the soles of their feet just trickle through.

 

[fowltemptress]

How long have you had the birds and why are you asking? Have you noticed problems with your chickens? I ask because if no bedding has been working for you, and the birds are beyond a doubt healthy and happy, I don't know that bedding would be necessary other than as an experiment on your part to see if you and/or the birds like it better.
When I had bedding in my chicken coop it would wick up moisture, prevent things from drying out, and attracted flies - all things it's supposed to prevent (and actually does do well in my waterfowl coops), but no matter what I did I just could not make bedding be anything but the worse option for my chicken coop. Now I have a vinyl flooring that I easily scoop poop off every day, and it stays dry without the bedding acting as a wick. So depending on environment and setup, bedding may or may not be a better option. But you might want to experiment to see how it goes. And if you start having issues with bumblefoot or other leg issues in your birds, you should definitely try bedding in case they're landing hard or slipping on the vinyl.

 

[Loving my girls]

How long have you had the birds and why are you asking? Have you noticed problems with your chickens? I ask because if no bedding has been working for you, and the birds are beyond a doubt healthy and happy, I don't know that bedding would be necessary other than as an experiment on your part to see if you and/or the birds like it better.
When I had bedding in my chicken coop it would wick up moisture, prevent things from drying out, and attracted flies - all things it's supposed to prevent (and actually does do well in my waterfowl coops), but no matter what I did I just could not make bedding be anything but the worse option for my chicken coop. Now I have a vinyl flooring that I easily scoop poop off every day, and it stays dry without the bedding acting as a wick. So depending on environment and setup, bedding may or may not be a better option. But you might want to experiment to see how it goes. And if you start having issues with bumblefoot or other leg issues in your birds, you should definitely try bedding in case they're landing hard or slipping on the vinyl.

Thank you so much for stopping me from feeling like the odd one out. I’ve been gradually checking the feet of my girls recently. So far they seem fine considering their relative ages. But if it would be better for them ??? It’s hard for me to know, in a perfect world I would ask them their preference but

 

[Loving my girls]

If I was to go for bedding - would oak sawdust/chippings be okay to try it out ? I would have to fork it up a bit first to get rid of obvious dust. It’s just that I have masses from hubbies play room, sorry workshop

 

[Sic]

I only use bedding for chicks because they are not yet roosting. Once they are up off the floor I see no use or purpose for bedding.