Hello, would it be ok to put sand on the floor of my coop, which is 10 ft by 10 ft,as im finding the weathers making the ground/earth v wet where i live and its also v dirty , so wd sand be a better cleaner option, in the run while im in work during the day?? , they can then free range when i get home.....
sand in run ?
- Thread starter rob77
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bantiekeeper
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Hi Rob,
Is the run covered? I have not used sand myself.My 8' x 8' run is covered and I use woodchip on the floor. Even if your run is open woodchip may be better than mud! If you have a local tree surgeon it may be worth giving it a try. Not sure if it is open to the elements wether the smell would be a problem if it gets soaked with rain. I am sure others will be along shortly to give you some better advice.
Is the run covered? I have not used sand myself.My 8' x 8' run is covered and I use woodchip on the floor. Even if your run is open woodchip may be better than mud! If you have a local tree surgeon it may be worth giving it a try. Not sure if it is open to the elements wether the smell would be a problem if it gets soaked with rain. I am sure others will be along shortly to give you some better advice.
BeemerBaz
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Hmmm I don't have a roof on my run but reading some comments today makes me think that maybe I should invest in some sort of covering especially as the weather is getting wetter and my run is on grass / earth.
What type of covering tho ?
Tarpaulin, corrugated plastic sheets, wooden boards ?
Would it be necessary to cover the entire run or just part of it, my run is 12x12
What type of covering tho ?
Tarpaulin, corrugated plastic sheets, wooden boards ?
Would it be necessary to cover the entire run or just part of it, my run is 12x12
Not tarpaulin for the roof, except as an emergency temporary measure, as when it rains it forms huge, heavy puddles between whatever cross members you fix across to support it. I tried this over my mesh roof the first year I had my new run and it deformed the mesh so it sagged down into heavy depressions full of many litres of water.
Wooden boards would be strong and would give shade, but unless you already had some to recycle they would probably be overkill as far as waterproofing was concerned, and also very heavy compared with alternatives- could the framework support them? Also possible redmite?
Most people use either corrugated opaque sheets (sold as Onduline, Or Wickes do a nice own-brand one in attractive green) or corrugated clear plastic sheets. The onduline type need more support as they are heavier and will bend out of shape if not given enough crossbeams at the recommended distances, but are long lasting, give shade to the run, and of course solve the water problem. But they will make the run darker, being solid. The clear plastic kind are lighter and easy to fix, let the light in, which is especially good in winter. They do make the run hotter on sunny days. This is a bonus in winter, of course, but in summer, if we get any, you need to provide alternative shade for the hens. Whatever you use needs guttering as well, perhaps to a water butt or a leaky hose to nearby garden beds (mine is fixed up to drain into the pond.) I didn't fix a gutter at first and found the rain just blew in the side of the run off the bottom edge of the roof.
This summer I've just succeeded in getting my whole run covered (it's about 4 X3 metres) and am already noticing a fantastic difference in the comfort of being in there, for me as well as the girls. Everything is always dry and comfortable, and now I can use Aubiose, which is shredded hemp stems, very soft and absorbent, on the floor. The girls love excavating it into huge heaps and so far, although I poo pick daily, it seems to stay lovely and clean and I think a nice deep layer will last a long time, but now i could have the choice of any sort of litter, without having to think about the effect of rain on it. So if you can manage a roof, whatever kind you choose, I'd say go for it before the winter sets in. If you cant manage the whole lot, it would be great to do at least one end, and perhaps cover the sides there with plastic tarpaulin, to make a dry sheltered end for the dust bath and feeder, and a perch there for the hens to hang out on in bad weather.
Wooden boards would be strong and would give shade, but unless you already had some to recycle they would probably be overkill as far as waterproofing was concerned, and also very heavy compared with alternatives- could the framework support them? Also possible redmite?
Most people use either corrugated opaque sheets (sold as Onduline, Or Wickes do a nice own-brand one in attractive green) or corrugated clear plastic sheets. The onduline type need more support as they are heavier and will bend out of shape if not given enough crossbeams at the recommended distances, but are long lasting, give shade to the run, and of course solve the water problem. But they will make the run darker, being solid. The clear plastic kind are lighter and easy to fix, let the light in, which is especially good in winter. They do make the run hotter on sunny days. This is a bonus in winter, of course, but in summer, if we get any, you need to provide alternative shade for the hens. Whatever you use needs guttering as well, perhaps to a water butt or a leaky hose to nearby garden beds (mine is fixed up to drain into the pond.) I didn't fix a gutter at first and found the rain just blew in the side of the run off the bottom edge of the roof.
This summer I've just succeeded in getting my whole run covered (it's about 4 X3 metres) and am already noticing a fantastic difference in the comfort of being in there, for me as well as the girls. Everything is always dry and comfortable, and now I can use Aubiose, which is shredded hemp stems, very soft and absorbent, on the floor. The girls love excavating it into huge heaps and so far, although I poo pick daily, it seems to stay lovely and clean and I think a nice deep layer will last a long time, but now i could have the choice of any sort of litter, without having to think about the effect of rain on it. So if you can manage a roof, whatever kind you choose, I'd say go for it before the winter sets in. If you cant manage the whole lot, it would be great to do at least one end, and perhaps cover the sides there with plastic tarpaulin, to make a dry sheltered end for the dust bath and feeder, and a perch there for the hens to hang out on in bad weather.
bantiekeeper
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Agree with Marigold, go for a roof if you can. I fixed clear corrugated sheets onto wooden frames but before I put them on I laid 2" chIcken wire and some of the green shading material across as an extra fox precaution and to keep it shaded in the summer. Works very well. Lucky enough to do out of mostly recycled material so cost was minimal.
The trouble with sand, I should think, would be that it wouldn't drain very well once the chickens had dug mud up into it from the earth below and had mixed this with poo from above,as it were. With more porous, lighter and looser materials such as woodchips you can poo pick and compost what is removed. I have no idea how you'd cope with a lot of wet dirty smelly sand, but when the time came to change it, you'd be in for some very hard work.
Whatever you use, it's a good idea to fit permeable weedproof membrane over the floor before putting anything down, as this keeps the mud below separate and at least stop s the birds from digging it up into the chippings or sand.
Whatever you use, it's a good idea to fit permeable weedproof membrane over the floor before putting anything down, as this keeps the mud below separate and at least stop s the birds from digging it up into the chippings or sand.
BeemerBaz
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I have recently emptied a complete bag of wood bark chip into the run, the chucks had great fun spreading it around and as previously mentioned it will be easier to clean up the bark than wet sand.
I have today as a temporary measure added a tarpaulin to cover half of he run so chucks have. Bit of shelter in the rain.
I love my chucks !
I have today as a temporary measure added a tarpaulin to cover half of he run so chucks have. Bit of shelter in the rain.
I love my chucks !
bantiekeeper
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Hi Beemerbaz, have you used bark chippings or woodchip? I understand from other contributors that spores in bark chippings can be a problem for the chooks. Thought I would mention it.
BeemerBaz
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I used a bag of bark chippings from the garden centre but thanks for your warning, I will keep an eye on th chucks an wont use the bark chips again.
foxy
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We have a few large walk in shelters built on an apex frame made out of corrugated plastic. One is around 2m x 2m and the other is slightly narrower. I think we bought the corrugated plastic sheeting from B&Q. One has a side of hazel hurdling so acts as a wind and rain shelter but still lets in light which works really well to prevent dark and damp spots in their run. As Marigold has mentioned they just adore the dry earth underneath for dustbathing, specially in late autumn sunshine! We have woodchip underneath ours which works really well, however our woodchip sits on a 3 inch type 1 base to aid drainage.
Mad Maggie
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I am just waiting for a sample of sally onion play safe rubber chippings as I think that may be the answer for the bottom of the coop. They seem very obliging and I think it is about £15 per bag - they have a good site and you could work out how much you need and how far it will cover.
