I’m almost ready!

[Ridgerunner]

1. What needs to be on the ground in the coop? Do I need to put pine shavings?

People use all kinds of things: dirt, sand, wood shavings, wood chips, dried leaves, hay, straw, grass clippings, whatever. Some people turn the run or coop floor into a compost pile, to me that looks like a good candidate for that.

To me the main issue is how wet does it get and stay? If it drains fairly well and stays pretty dry you'll probably be OK with about anything you do. If it stays wet it will probably stink and you will need to do something. The nose test is what I use to determine if I need to do something.

2. I have 6 nesting boxes - is that enough?

Yes plenty.

3. Do Chickens need “toys”? I fear they’ll get bored!

To me the greatest boredom-breaker is room. If they have enough room they can pretty much entertain themselves and stay out of trouble. If room is tight any problems are magnified. I can't tell from the photos how many of those buildings or fenced areas they actually have access to. I can't tell physical size either. When I saw 15 chickens that was my first thought, how much room do they actually have?

You can greatly improve the quality of room you have by adding clutter. That means giving them thing to hide under, behind, or over. Yours are Silkies that can't fly so bear that in mind but most chickens really like to perch, just sit up on things and look around. It doesn't have to be that high as long as it is up some.

They also like to scratch through things looking for something to eat. That's why a compost pile in there could help. I'd give some thought to just raking leaves in there for them to scratch through.

4.Anything else I am missing or need to know?

Probably but I don't know how much you know, how much experience you have, what your goals are, or many other things so I'll just wish you good luck.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Dallas area, you don't get harsh winters (one of my daughters went to school in Denton, then UT @ D, while we lived east of Austin), assuming your girls are fully feathered, they will have no issues with your weather. WE may have issues with the weather, but THEY won't. Looks like they have protected, draft free spaces that are dry. That's all they need.

As to the run floor, pine shavings are fine. So is straw, though there are some complaints from some posters about it. So is leaf litter - and gathering from your photo, you may have some of that available.

Ultimately, what to throw in your run floor will depend on the management system you choose. I like deep litter and cold composting, its very low maintenance and all the materials I need for it (leaf litter, dried yard clippings, etc) are already present on my acreage. You may also (I do not) have free woodchips available thru ChipDrop or similar services. Basically, you have options, you just need to pick the option that works best for the amount of time and expense you want to put into it.

A properly functioning chicken keeping operation is a system - and in the best systems, the individual parts work to support one another as a cohesive whole.

 

[ackie]

I didnt know silkies cant fly.

 

[ackie]

I need to look into other flooring options that arent buying pine straw bales from homedepot. Leaves you say....hmmm. *looks around at every square inch of property covered in freshly fallen oak leaves*

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I need to look into other flooring options that arent buying pine straw bales from homedepot. Leaves you say....hmmm. *looks around at every square inch of property covered in freshly fallen oak leaves*

In the Atlanta area, you can look @ ChipDrop, too. By all means, use your leaf litter, but if its not enough, or in the Spring and summer when the leaves aren't really falling and the weather turns wet... a load of chipped up tree trimmings may be just what you need, and the arborist doesn't want to pay the dump to take it. Win/Win

 

[ackie]

In the Atlanta area, you can look @ ChipDrop, too. By all means, use your leaf litter, but if its not enough, or in the Spring and summer when the leaves aren't really falling and the weather turns wet... a load of chipped up tree trimmings may be just what you need, and the arborist doesn't want to pay the dump to take it. Win/Win

That's awesome. I love working together to make use of stuff they dont want and I do.

 

[BleuSaphir]

The coop look great!

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

Your hens are likely to only use one box. You should probably use hay instead of shavings, less chance of them eating it. What kind of dog is that?

 

[garlandchickens]

Near the Dallas area. North about 20 minutes.

Me too! We use leaves or grass clippings combined with pine shavings for substrate. Every few months we completely bag up all the floor and start afresh.

 

[garlandchickens]

We also have to clean it more in the spring because of the rain and our yard doesn’t drain well. We are just in a backyard. What part of north Dallas are you in?