Run flooring advice

[Silkie7]

Hi! I'm a new chicken owner. I have six 9-week-old silkies. I just put their coop/run together. Can I leave the floor just as is, or should I put something down like mulch or sand? I heard straw is suitable for the winter. It gets pretty cold here in the winter.
The picture below is of the co-op/run and my kiddos enjoying our chicks.

 

[gtaus]

Can I leave the floor just as is, or should I put something down like mulch or sand? I heard straw is suitable for the winter.

I would put something down on the coop floor, at least.

I started using free paper shreds as my coop litter a couple years ago. It's the best litter method for me. Plus, all that paper now gets shredded up at home instead of being hauled out to the recycle center. Later, it all gets composted into soil for my raised bed gardens.

I live on a lake, but never had much luck with sand. It gets wet and smelly and needs to be replaced all the time. Straw can also get wet and moldy and needs to be replaced frequently. Also, I have to pay for straw, so that is a disadvantage. I prefer just about any coop litter I can get for free. Free wood chips and dried leaves work well, but I still prefer paper shreds for my setup.

I started a thread on Using Shredded Paper for Coop Litter - As Good As Wood Chips? which has my experience with switching over to paper shreds along with lots of comments by other members.

 

[NatJ]

Can I leave the floor just as is, or should I put something down like mulch or sand?

I would leave the floor of the run as it is (grass) until the chickens kill the grass. Then either move the run to fresh grass, or put something on the floor in there.

For what to put on the floor, you could go wtih sand (works in some climates, should not be mixed with anything else, requires specific management such as scooping poop regularly.)

Or you could put dry organic matter on the ground. That will eventually form compost with the chicken droppings, either in the run or you can move it to a separate compost pile. I said "dry organic matter" because there are so many things that can work. You can use just one kind, or a mixture. Options include mulch, straw, wood chips, wood shavings, dry leaves, paper shreds, pine needles, and many other things.

 

[Silkie7]

I would put something down on the coop floor, at least.

I started using free paper shreds as my coop litter a couple years ago. It's the best litter method for me. Plus, all that paper now gets shredded up at home instead of being hauled out to the recycle center. Later, it all gets composted into soil for my raised bed gardens.

I live on a lake, but never had much luck with sand. It gets wet and smelly and needs to be replaced all the time. Straw can also get wet and moldy and needs to be replaced frequently. Also, I have to pay for straw, so that is a disadvantage. I prefer just about any coop litter I can get for free. Free wood chips and dried leaves work well, but I still prefer paper shreds for my setup.

I started a thread on Using Shredded Paper for Coop Litter - As Good As Wood Chips? which ,has my experience with switching over to paper shreds along with lots of comments by other members.

Thank you @gtaus for your reply. We do a lot of shredding in our house so that will be useful. I'm excited to read your thread and learn more.

 

[Silkie7]

I would leave the floor of the run as it is (grass) until the chickens kill the grass. Then either move the run to fresh grass, or put something on the floor in there.

For what to put on the floor, you could go wtih sand (works in some climates, should not be mixed with anything else, requires specific management such as scooping poop regularly.)

Or you could put dry organic matter on the ground. That will eventually form compost with the chicken droppings, either in the run or you can move it to a separate compost pile. I said "dry organic matter" because there are so many things that can work. You can use just one kind, or a mixture. Options include mulch, straw, wood chips, wood shavings, dry leaves, paper shreds, pine needles, and many other things.

Thank you @NatJ for your reply. It's good to know I have options. Would it be okay to leave it just grass for the winter months? I'm just asking because I have silkies and they're sensitive to cold weather.

 

[NatJ]

Thank you @NatJ for your reply. It's good to know I have options. Would it be okay to leave it just grass for the winter months? I'm just asking because I have silkies and they're sensitive to cold weather.

Grass should be fine in the winter too.

Mud is not good, so bare dirt (after they kill the grass) can be a problem if it gets wet.

Chickens usually do not like to walk in snow, so snow on top of grass might not be good either.

It gets pretty cold here in the winter.

How cold does it get?

 

[Silkie7]

Grass should be fine in the winter too.

Mud is not good, so bare dirt (after they kill the grass) can be a problem if it gets wet.

Chickens usually do not like to walk in snow, so snow on top of grass might not be good either.


How cold does it get?

We already have some dirt patches. It can get below −20 F here.

 

[gtaus]

The picture below is of the co-op/run and my kiddos enjoying our chicks.

Suggest you add your geographic location to your member icon. It helps members better answer questions that might relate to your climate.

Chickens usually do not like to walk in snow, so snow on top of grass might not be good either.

Right. OP's picture has some kind of cover over the run portion of the setup. Would recommend maybe using some clear plastic over that run portion, letting the winter sun in when possible, but preventing snow from filling the run. My chickens will not leave the coop in the winter when snow is on the ground. They live in their coop.

Mud is not good, so bare dirt (after they kill the grass) can be a problem if it gets wet.

Worse yet, freezing mud on their feet. If OP already has patches of dirt, it might be time to lay down a good layer of some kind of litter. If OP has access to free wood chips, that would be great. I dump all my leaves in the chicken run this time of year, but I don't have a way to cover the run so the chickens can enjoy going outside. Just about anything would be better than a muddy run.

 

[NatJ]

We already have some dirt patches. It can get below −20 F here.

If it can get below -20 F, you will probably want a larger coop to keep your silkies comfortable.

Chickens will typically stay inside the coop (sheltered area) in very cold weather, but the coop (upper sheltered area) that you have is not big enough to hold 6 silkies, and their food and water, and give them enough room to comfortably stay there for days at a time. It probably does not let in enough light either, for them to spend days inside.

A common guideline is 4 square feet per chicken inside the coop. That would mean 24 square feet for 6 chickens (so a space 4 feet by 6 feet, or similar)

Silkies are usually bantams, and bantams can usually get by with half that much space. So 2 square feet times 6 chickens would make 12 square feet (3 x 4 feet) But the Eglu Cube is only about 3x3 feet inside the top area (9 square feet is too small), and part of that space is taken up by nestboxes (so smaller yet), plus you still need a place to put the food and water.

So I would suggest you get a bigger coop. Or else be prepared to turn that run into a more sheltered area so they can keep using it in the cold parts of the winter. I see you have already covered part of it, but I think it will need more as the winter progresses, to keep out snow (drifting in or blowing in), and wind (chickens do much better if they can stay out of the wind.) You still need to leave some amount open for ventilation, but try to make it areas that will let air move gently rather than blowing hard on the chickens (pay attention to which direction the wind usually blows in your yard, to see where you can best leave ventilation without the wind blowing straight in.)

 

[Silkie7]

View attachment 3659215

Suggest you add your geographic location to your member icon. It helps members better answer questions that might relate to your climate.



Right. OP's picture has some kind of cover over the run portion of the setup. Would recommend maybe using some clear plastic over that run portion, letting the winter sun in when possible, but preventing snow from filling the run. My chickens will not leave the coop in the winter when snow is on the ground. They live in their coop.



Worse yet, freezing mud on their feet. If OP already has patches of dirt, it might be time to lay down a good layer of some kind of litter. If OP has access to free wood chips, that would be great. I dump all my leaves in the chicken run this time of year, but I don't have a way to cover the run so the chickens can enjoy going outside. Just about anything would be better than a muddy run.

Thanks @gtaus for the tips. I have added my location to my member icon.