I need your wisdom!

[Soujrnr]

Hello, friends. My wife and I are rank newbies to having chickens. We've had our girls for about four days now. Many of you have already seen photos of the coop we built and such. We have filled the upper nesting area with about a foot of shavings, but the ground is not covered, nor is the run. I read this blog post last night and I'm wondering if I should at least fill the coop area with deep bedding like we did in the nesting area. What this blog says makes sense from a cleanliness standpoint because these girls are pooping constantly and then just walking in it. I realize they are chickens, but it wouldn't hurt to do all we can to pamper them to some degree, would it?

Here is the link to the short blog article and I'd love your thoughts on it! Thanks.

Backyard Chickens

 

[aart]

the coop area with deep bedding like we did in the nesting area.

A it confused as to what you are calling the 'nesting' area vs the 'coop' area.
Most common nomenclature is that the smaller enclosed area is the coop, which usually has the nests for laying inside it.
The larger connected area is usually called the run.
Posting some some pics of your current set up would help immensely here,
but having some kind of bedding anywhere they poop is generally the best way to go.

 

[Soujrnr]

Sorry for my nomenclature fail. These pictures should tell the story. There is about 12 inches of shavings in the area where they lay their eggs, but none on the ground below that. Our attached run is 18 feet long and six feet wide.

 

[Saveria]

We usually put pine shavings on top of the poop. If they are in the run and coop only you may want to do it each day.

 

[mowin]

I think you have plenty of shaving in the coop. I noticed only part of the run is covered, I'd do wood chips in the run.

 

[Saveria]

We usually put pine shavings on top of the poop. If they are in the run and coop only you may want to do it each day.

I should also say that we then rake it out a couple times a year. They really would rather walk on wood shavings in the winter, an added bonus.

 

[Saveria]

Beautiful coop, btw.

 

[FunClucks]

I'd let them tear up and eat all the grass first, chickens love that. Then when they've demolished the grass in the run, add wood chips. you can mix them with grass clippings, old leaves, garden weeds, etc, and the chickens will love scratching around as the wood chips cold compost the poop. Look up Deep Litter and Deep Bedding on this site. One allows water and actually helps cold compost the poop the other keeps the poop dry in the coop, and you change it out about 1-2x a year. Also consider if you'd like to do poop boards with zeolite (sweet pdz horse stall refresher granules). This will keep your coop bedding cleaner, but require a bit more daily work from you. There are threads on this site about poop boards and zeolite/sweet PDZ also.

I love your coop and run! They are awesome and I am jealous of your setup!!!

Make sure you do your research on what predators are in your area - there's a Forum on here that might be helpful. Depending on what else you have going on (your own livestock dogs, electric fencing, etc) and what predators you actually have in your area, the 1"x2" wire can be sufficient, but there are a number of predators that can enter anything larger than 1/2". Also, I'd put some wood trim over anywhere you've stapled the 1"x2" wire in place - racoons can grab the fencing fabric and rip out staples, so covering them with trim is helpful to prevent that. Mink and weasels can get through 1"x2" I think, but these may or may not be an issue in your area while racoons are pretty much everywhere.

If you have or put up any roosts in the run that touch the run walls, make sure you put a piece of plywood or metal, or 1/2" hardware cloth along the run wall to protect the area where chickens will be roosting/resting/sleeping. Imagine a racoon reaching through the run wall, and how long their arms are and where they can reach to, and that's the area I would block off around the end of the chicken's roost. Racoons will reach through 1"x2" wire and pull off chickens heads when they're asleep or any time they can reach them. Many folks will put a couple feet of 1/2" hardware cloth along the sides of the run right at the bottom edge, so the hardware cloth goes from the ground up the side wall of the run about 2 feet when using 1"x2" fencing, since the chickens walk around on the ground, the 2 feet tall 1/2" hardware cloth will prevent racoons reaching through to grab them during the day also.

Best of luck and I love your coop!!!

 

[Mouthpear]

Hello, friends. My wife and I are rank newbies to having chickens. We've had our girls for about four days now. Many of you have already seen photos of the coop we built and such. We have filled the upper nesting area with about a foot of shavings, but the ground is not covered, nor is the run. I read this blog post last night and I'm wondering if I should at least fill the coop area with deep bedding like we did in the nesting area. What this blog says makes sense from a cleanliness standpoint because these girls are pooping constantly and then just walking in it. I realize they are chickens, but it wouldn't hurt to do all we can to pamper them to some degree, would it?

Here is the link to the short blog article and I'd love your thoughts on it! Thanks.

Backyard Chickens

I have done pine shavings but found it too "expensive". So I dropped it. I started to use grass clippings from the yard. lots of fresh juicy green St Augustine grass. Just piled it up in their run and coop. The smell of the cut grass over powers the poop. The birds eat all the wish and spread it out. It worked out nice. I don't know why but as it dried out it also dried out the poop faster. Plus I was cutting my yard way more often. Just so I could watch them go at it. They loved all the copped up bugs too. Needless to say I had the best kept lawn on the whole block. So I just use grass clipping or straw now.

 

[Mouthpear]

I'd let them tear up and eat all the grass first, chickens love that. Then when they've demolished the grass in the run, add wood chips. you can mix them with grass clippings, old leaves, garden weeds, etc, and the chickens will love scratching around as the wood chips cold compost the poop. Look up Deep Litter and Deep Bedding on this site. One allows water and actually helps cold compost the poop the other keeps the poop dry in the coop, and you change it out about 1-2x a year. Also consider if you'd like to do poop boards with zeolite (sweet pdz horse stall refresher granules). This will keep your coop bedding cleaner, but require a bit more daily work from you. There are threads on this site about poop boards and zeolite/sweet PDZ also.

I love your coop and run! They are awesome and I am jealous of your setup!!!

Make sure you do your research on what predators are in your area - there's a Forum on here that might be helpful. Depending on what else you have going on (your own livestock dogs, electric fencing, etc) and what predators you actually have in your area, the 1"x2" wire can be sufficient, but there are a number of predators that can enter anything larger than 1/2". Also, I'd put some wood trim over anywhere you've stapled the 1"x2" wire in place - racoons can grab the fencing fabric and rip out staples, so covering them with trim is helpful to prevent that. Mink and weasels can get through 1"x2" I think, but these may or may not be an issue in your area while racoons are pretty much everywhere.

If you have or put up any roosts in the run that touch the run walls, make sure you put a piece of plywood or metal, or 1/2" hardware cloth along the run wall to protect the area where chickens will be roosting/resting/sleeping. Imagine a racoon reaching through the run wall, and how long their arms are and where they can reach to, and that's the area I would block off around the end of the chicken's roost. Racoons will reach through 1"x2" wire and pull off chickens heads when they're asleep or any time they can reach them. Many folks will put a couple feet of 1/2" hardware cloth along the sides of the run right at the bottom edge, so the hardware cloth goes from the ground up the side wall of the run about 2 feet when using 1"x2" fencing, since the chickens walk around on the ground, the 2 feet tall 1/2" hardware cloth will prevent racoons reaching through to grab them during the day also.

Best of luck and I love your coop!!!

I think what they have there is 2x4. That is not good.