Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Let me put in a pitch for dried leaves - they have the benefit of being free and having creepy crawlies in them - they are excellent for a run. I dry them off and use in the coop also. I use pine shavings and shredded paper in the nest boxes but the princesses always bring leaves in to the nest boxes for decoration.

You are so clever.

 

[Shadrach]

Thank you @Shadrach @BY Bob @Ponypoor for the great information. @Shadrach , you are so pedantic it makes me chuckle. Next time I shall ask "according to the best of your knowledge".

I'm afraid "according to the best of your knowledge" still won't hack it, especially on BYC where opinion rules and facts, if unsuportive of the posters argument, are inconvenient.

 

[rural mouse]

Thoughts and opinions on straw versus pine or cedar chips for coop bedding?

Depends upon what the coop is like. Cedar is a NO. I use mostly straw, but when I dig it all out, I'm going to have to put down a layer of pine chips to restart the litter/compost process. Then the straw over the top periodically. It's easier for me to get.

 

[bgmathteach]

Let me put in a pitch for dried leaves - they have the benefit of being free and having creepy crawlies in them - they are excellent for a run. I dry them off and use in the coop also. I use pine shavings and shredded paper in the nest boxes but the princesses always bring leaves in to the nest boxes for decoration.

Yes, this!!! I also bag leaves and pine needles! I use them as a supplement to shavings, as neither are very absorbent. However, as you mention, they LOVE scratching through the leaves (dry ones that are bagged for use through the winter for coop & run) and wet/damp ones in the run for the possibility of creepy crawlies.

Personally, my favorite 'mix' for the coop is: 50% shavings (large flakes) 25% dry leaves & 25% pine needles (approx.) The shavings are absorbent, the leaves give loft & are entertainment for the chooks, and pine needles give a great scent (not toxic). Of course, this only works if you have plenty of free leaves & pine needles to rake up and store.

I also put leaves galore in the run when they are available, but mix in shavings as well (and pine needles) I do deep litter in the run and doing just leaves can result in a matted mess that is much more work to try to keep well mixed for proper microbial action to generate some heat & breakdown.

P.S. I bagged 25 large leaf bags of leaves & pine needles, plus 2 large garbage bins in the fall to use throughout the winter. Unfortunately, I use my last bag of leaves last week. So, no more until late spring

 

[RoyalChick]

So DH is now not loving the idea of building a coop and run from scratch. Two of these might work to get us up and running quickly at the new place. Some modifications would be needed, if course.

Thoughts?
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/producers-pride-extra-large-sentinel-chicken-coop-mfc-ls#

It looks quite well designed and sturdy and actually less pricey than I could imagine. Definitely better value than the standard pre-fab.
I like the steel frame with wood panels construction as it is probably pretty solid but also would be easy to modify with the wood panels. You could add on or connect the two with a tunnel or all sorts of things including painting it fun colors!
It says it has 3 roosts but I didn't see a picture of where they are. But again, as it is wood you could be fitting a roost or two yourself as a modification.
The run is obviously too small, but I am assuming you will be able to do some free ranging and of course you could do an extension too.
The big unanswered questions in my mind were:
- Ventilation - I looked at the assembly diagram and it does not appear to have a roof ridge vent or soffit vents and it does not have much of a roof over-hang so it may be tough to create your own soffit vents. Best I could come up with is you remove the triangle above the door and replace with h/w cloth and cut a similar triangle at the other end (the run end) and get a cross breeze going that way.
- Predator proofing - it says the pallet is the floor - I can't quite visualize that but when I do I see a rat under the pallet gnawing its way into the coop. So I think you would need to enclose the pallet in h/w cloth before erecting the thing as well as creating a h/w cloth skirt for the run.
Sorry for the long reply - hope it is helpful.

 

[rural mouse]

Sounds like a wonderful hour. Isn't it great when you can start getting out with them again. I am envious that you were able to sit on the ground with them. Here it is still so muddy that is out of the question.

I'm surprised it was so dry....and temps are dropping again in about a week, so hopefully more snow (Its too dry). I need the intermittent sunshine too (threatening clouds did nothing and there was very little wind) I kept hearing little songbirds but couldn't see them well enough to identify. They weren't the year round chickadees, so not sure if are something else year round or are newly arrived.

 

[RoyalChick]

Thanks. Would definitely need to add additional ventilation, hardware cloth to the run, etc. Some modifications would also be needed to connect the two coops and runs.

Ooops. SHRA. I think you literally said everything I responded with!
Tax: Dotty looks like she is about to inhale the entire cup of chopped veggies and shrimp jackets.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

Thoughts and opinions on straw versus pine or cedar chips for coop bedding?

I use pine chips normally, but a few weeks ago I threw some alfalfa hay in there on top of the chips. It smells great, and they like to pick through it for edibles.

 

[lightm]

I'm afraid "according to the best of your knowledge" still won't hack it, especially on BYC where opinion rules and facts, if unsuportive of the posters argument, are inconvenient.

How about this non-native English speaker just gave up...

 

[rural mouse]

Yes, this!!! I also bag leaves and pine needles! I use them as a supplement to shavings, as neither are very absorbent. However, as you mention, they LOVE scratching through the leaves (dry ones that are bagged for use through the winter for coop & run) and wet/damp ones in the run for the possibility of creepy crawlies.

Personally, my favorite 'mix' for the coop is: 50% shavings (large flakes) 25% dry leaves & 25% pine needles (approx.) The shavings are absorbent, the leaves give loft & are entertainment for the chooks, and pine needles give a great scent (not toxic). Of course, this only works if you have plenty of free leaves & pine needles to rake up and store.

I also put leaves galore in the run when they are available, but mix in shavings as well (and pine needles) I do deep litter in the run and doing just leaves can result in a matted mess that is much more work to try to keep well mixed for proper microbial action to generate some heat & breakdown.

P.S. I bagged 25 large leaf bags of leaves & pine needles, plus 2 large garbage bins in the fall to use throughout the winter. Unfortunately, I use my last bag of leaves last week. So, no more until late spring

The leaves get blown away by the fall/early winter winds...unless the chooks tear them up first....i need to get a pine tree going. Spruce needles are just too small for raking....but the cones...mixed into the chips..... I'm going to give this some thought.