New to Forum and Have a Couple Questions

[LanaBYC]

Good Morning!!!! Hello! We're new to this forum and are raising eight new laying chicks. My husband is converting an old garden shed into a chicken coop and we have a TON of questions. Here we go....

a) Should the concrete floors be "broom finished" or "smooth finished?"

b) Should we put something on the concrete floors for the chickens, such as shavings, pellets, etc.?

c) Suggestions for removable pans that we can place under the roosting bars for ease of cleanup?

Thanks in advance!!!!

Lana

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to BYC.
We are glad you joined this flock!
Jump right in and make yourself at home.

You don't want splinters in feet, they can cause a bumblefoot infection.
Kitty litter pans work for poop trays.

This video will help you learn how to navigate this site:

Coop Ideas:
Chicken Coops.

What exactly did you Google to get here? <<<<<<<<<<<

BYC has an APP!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

One of my buildings is an older storage shed that has a concrete floor and part of another run is old concrete. I wish they were smoother finishes so they would be easier to clean. You have to cover the concrete with some bedding like pine shavings or sand. Otherwise the feces becomes almost impossible to get off the concrete. If you live where it gets very cold, you may want to put down some sheets of plywood over the concrete before putting the shavings down. That insulates the building a bit from the concrete conducting cold from the frozen ground.
If you go to the chicken coops section, you'll see many ideas for poop boards.

 

[N F C]

I've never had concrete in a coop so not the best one to give advice. In addition to what the other greeters have mentioned, you could ask questions here:
Coop & Run - Design, Construction, & Maintenance

Thanks for joining us!

 

[LanaBYC]

Welcome to BYC.
We are glad you joined this flock!
Jump right in and make yourself at home.

You don't want splinters in feet, they can cause a bumblefoot infection.
Kitty litter pans work for poop trays.

This video will help you learn how to navigate this site:

Coop Ideas:
Chicken Coops.

What exactly did you Google to get here? <<<<<<<<<<<

BYC has an APP!

Thank you sooooo much! What a great video to explain it all! Honestly, I can't remember what I googled, but I'm glad that I found this forum....we have a steep learning curve, but it's an incredibly fun journey. Thank you for your help!

Lana

 

[LanaBYC]

One of my buildings is an older storage shed that has a concrete floor and part of another run is old concrete. I wish they were smoother finishes so they would be easier to clean. You have to cover the concrete with some bedding like pine shavings or sand. Otherwise the feces becomes almost impossible to get off the concrete. If you live where it gets very cold, you may want to put down some sheets of plywood over the concrete before putting the shavings down. That insulates the building a bit from the concrete conducting cold from the frozen ground.
If you go to the chicken coops section, you'll see many ideas for poop boards.

Thank you! That's what we we were thinking about the smoother finish and the shavings! Appreciate your assistance!

Lana

 

[HuffleClaw]

Hello and ! Thanks for joining the BYC community, it’s great to have you here Great information provided above, good luck!

 

[DobieLover]

Hello, Lana, and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
I would not put concrete down intentionally for a floor in a coop. It is hard on a chickens feet and legs when they jump off the roost to land and concrete is very porous and absorbs odors.
What is the garden shed floor now?

Using pine shavings for litter is fine.

I like poop boards. I am using a design that allows me to put in a 1" thick or more layer of washed sand mixed with PDZ. All I'll have to do is kitty litter scoop the boards in the morning and dump their night time load into the compost bin.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Hi Lana!
Welcome to our FUNomenal Flock!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Thank you! That's what we we were thinking about the smoother finish and the shavings! Appreciate your assistance!

Lana

I did a broom finish in the shed which isn't too hard to clean but a smooth trowel finish would have been better.
The old concrete base under part of another run is probably 150 years old, cracked and deeply pitted. It is impossible to get very clean. Some day I'll try to put a topping on it but that is about 187th on the list of chores.