New to BYC - *NEW* Chick owner

[Ted Brown]

A number of comments:

• Wood chips make excellent litter for a run; I also add leaves and needles each fall, currently 12"+ deep. 6 years in, zero maintenance, no smell, no waste accumulation.
• I used Blackjack 57 on the coop floor and 12" up the walls; two coats. Excellent product - six years and still working well. I clean out my coop bedding once a year so have an opportunity to examine condition and renew if needed.
• I use drop boards with PDZ under my roosts and pickup as near to daily as I am able. 90%+ of waste goes onto the drop boards, most of the rest goes into the run.
• I use coarse pine shavings as deep bedding in the coop, easily lasts a year if drop boards are properly used. I change it because of dust as it and any waste breaks down. Next to no smell
• The coop/run pictured above can be improved.
  • The coop proper does not appear to have sufficient ventilation which is critical for healthy chickens. Most folks use the roof overhangs for this.
  • The external nest boxes are exposed to the weather, you would be better to increase the overhangs so that they "cover" the nest box to provide shelter from rain and for you if you are collecting eggs in inclement weather. You would be much better off with a walk in coop!!!!!

Good luck.

 

[RJM1109]

Chickens and gardens go together well. Check out the fourm for many threads on composting with chickens. Lots of good info.



Yes. Do what works for you. Enjoy the journey. I do things a bit differently now than 4 years ago. But I'm still learning new things and make changes along the way. Best wishes.

I appreciate all the help and the kind words.
Thank you very much and best of luck with your journey as well!

 

[RJM1109]

A number of comments:

• Wood chips make excellent litter for a run; I also add leaves and needles each fall, currently 12"+ deep. 6 years in, zero maintenance, no smell, no waste accumulation.
• I used Blackjack 57 on the coop floor and 12" up the walls; two coats. Excellent product - six years and still working well. I clean out my coop bedding once a year so have an opportunity to examine condition and renew if needed.
• I use drop boards with PDZ under my roosts and pickup as near to daily as I am able. 90%+ of waste goes onto the drop boards, most of the rest goes into the run.
• I use coarse pine shavings as deep bedding in the coop, easily lasts a year if drop boards are properly used. I change it because of dust as it and any waste breaks down. Next to no smell
• The coop/run pictured above can be improved.
  • The coop proper does not appear to have sufficient ventilation which is critical for healthy chickens. Most folks use the roof overhangs for this.
  • The external nest boxes are exposed to the weather, you would be better to increase the overhangs so that they "cover" the nest box to provide shelter from rain and for you if you are collecting eggs in inclement weather. You would be much better off with a walk in coop!!!!!

Good luck.

Hi Ted,

Thank you for all the comments and notes! I appreciate the help!
You're the 2nd person to mention BlackJack 57 for the coop floor! I'm really interested in it and will definitely do more research on it!
I will also be installing a drop board under my roosts! its good to know that if i clean the drop boards out daily and pickup all the ones that don't make it onto the drop boards - that the Pine Shavings as a bedding will last so long!

In regards to the ventilation, I do not have a photo of the coop that i am building - but will be similar to the photo below. Both red circle are where vents will be for airflow (both protected by hardware cloth and have the option to open/close when needed).

Also, both windows have hardware cloth over them, to allow ventilation with the windows open.

In regards to the nesting box comment, i fully agree with your input! I was planning on extending the roofing another foot or 2 to cover/protect the area. I've also thought about just building it out and squaring it all off and not having an outdoor option to the nesting box (just making it a walk in coop as you mentioned!)

 

[gtaus]

I used Blackjack 57 on the coop floor and 12" up the walls; two coats. Excellent product - six years and still working well. I clean out my coop bedding once a year so have an opportunity to examine condition and renew if needed.

I have a few questions regarding Black Jack #57. I have an existing coop and will probably be pulling out my old linoleum this summer.

1) How long does it take for Black Jack to dry enough to let the chickens back into the coop? Hours? Days?

2) Does Black Jack freeze and crack in the winter?

3) If there are places that need to be repaired in the Black Jack on the coop floor, how do you clean it out before you can repaint it?

I am seriously considering using Black Jack this time if I have to pull out my old linoleum. Any help with answers to my questions might be valuable to OP as well when considering what kind of floor covering to use. I was very happy with my cheap linoleum but now it needs to be replaced and I'm considering all options. Thanks.

 

[Ted Brown]

The rule of thumb on BYC is 1sq ft per bird of ventilation open 24/7/365. If you extend the overhangs use fascia boards and cover the soffit area with HC (I have found wall space to be premium).

I know that your last pic is illustration only but... the 1st roost near the wall needs to be 12" away with 18" between roosts in a ladder style setup. You can reduce that to 12" between roosts if they are all at the same level and this setup reduce conflicts as they settle (yes floor space gets used quickly).

I never pickup waste from the coop bedding, not necessary with drop boards.

 

[gtaus]

In regards to the nesting box comment, i fully agree with your input! I was planning on extending the roofing another foot or 2 to cover/protect the area. I've also thought about just building it out and squaring it all off and not having an outdoor option to the nesting box (just making it a walk in coop as you mentioned!)

There are other ways for the nest boxes. I have my nest boxes inside the coop and an access door on the outside that drops down. The accss door is flush with the outside wall, so the nest boxes are protected by the coop itself. One advantage to that design is that I never have to worry about a large snowfall on an external nest box setup, or water leaking down into the nest boxes.

Here is a Google picture of something like I have. I have 3 nest boxes inside the coop and just one large drop-down access door outside, but I think you will get the idea...

I have an elevated coop built on the frame of an old boat trailer. Having access to the nest boxes outside is really convenient for me. In fact, I keep all my feed and water inside the coop's back door so I don't actually have to go inside. And the eggs get collected outside when I drop down the access panel.

I only go into my coop a few times a year, because I use deep bedding and being elevated, it was not designed for easy walk-in all the time. I don't use poop boards or anything else that would require frequent cleaning.

If you decided to go with a walk in type of coop, I would suggest you look at making a shed conversion type of coop. That way, if you ever stop having chickens, you could still have a nice garden shed for storage. My elevated chicken coop, as much as I like it, is only good for chickens. It would not make a good storage shed.

 

[Ted Brown]

I have a few questions regarding Black Jack #57. I have an existing coop and will probably be pulling out my old linoleum this summer.

1) How long does it take for Black Jack to dry enough to let the chickens back into the coop? Hours? Days?

2) Does Black Jack freeze and crack in the winter?

3) If there are places that need to be repaired in the Black Jack on the coop floor, how do you clean it out before you can repaint it?

1) On a warm day, preferably with a breeze, it will be dry to the touch in 12 hours. If you do two coats you will need 2 days. If you have a secure run leave your flock there overnight, if not I would be prepared to clean up before the 2nd coat. No perfect but doable.
2) No. Even if water spills in winter and freezes no visible damage (my floor is 1x6 pine boards).
3) I have not had to repair my floors in six years. If I wanted to add a coat I would coincide it with my annual removal of bedding, vacuum well and perhaps lightly wash any soiled areas. You can do the entire floor or a patch as needed.

 

[gtaus]

1) On a warm day preferably, with a breeze, it will be dry to the touch in 12 hours. If you do two coats you will need 2 days. If you have a secure run leave your flock there overnight, if not I would be prepared to clean up before the 2nd coat. No perfect but doable.
2) No. Even if water spills in winter and freezes no visible damage (my floor is 1x6 pine boards).
3) I have not had to repair my floors in six years. If I wanted to add a coat I would coincide it with my annual removal of bedding, vacuum well and perhaps lightly wash any soiled areas. You can do the entire floor or a patch as needed.

Thanks. That's what I needed to know. Hope it helps OP as well when choosing coop floor covering options.

 

[rosemarythyme]

1) How long does it take for Black Jack to dry enough to let the chickens back into the coop? Hours? Days?

Assuming you follow the technical data sheet instructions it should be tacky but surface dry in a few hours. It does surface dry decently fast without much odor. I've read some folks try putting in a thin layer of bedding at that point so the birds can go in and use the coop, but there's still some airflow getting under the bedding to help dry it out. You'd have to clean it out again to apply the second coat but at least that would allow them to use the coop in the interim.

2) Does Black Jack freeze and crack in the winter?

I haven't had issue but we don't get that cold here. Ted Brown is in a colder climate so if he's had good results, then that's a plus.

3) If there are places that need to be repaired in the Black Jack on the coop floor, how do you clean it out before you can repaint it?

I'll be retouching mine this summer (which doesn't help with your question at the moment) but I plan on just doing it at the same time as my annual full cleanout. Mostly because the girls scratch around right under where the feeder sits, so they have worn out a lot of the coating there.

 

[gtaus]

@rosemarythyme, thanks for the additional information on Black Jack #57.