There are many different options that are commonly used for bedding - hemp, sand, straw, dirt, wood shavings, the list goes on. Each are very effective and easily accessible, but vary in cost so make sure you take into account the size of the coop and the price per metre.
Wood Shavings - This is a good bedding that is a popular choice as it's fairly cheap. It is very absorbent and can keep your chicken coop smelling fresh. Be sure to buy dust extracted wood shavings, otherwise your chickens will suffer from respiratory problems.
What Do You Use on the Floor of the Coop? For the deep litter method, use pine shavings or hemp bedding as your bottom layer since they are small pieces and compost fairly quickly. Pine shavings are inexpensive and available online or at your local feed store in bales.
So what materials are best for chicken coop floors? Several different flooring materials are suitable for chicken coops, including concrete, plywood, and linoleum. Good chicken coop flooring is safe, predator- and rodent-proof, durable, and easy to clean.
Having a chicken coop without a floor can come with many challenges, including infestations of mice and rats. Still, some chicken keepers swear by the dirt floor method, and have discovered numerous ways to deal with the inherent problems. There are many reasons you may want a coop without a floor.
The bottom line is organic matter, leaves, wood chips, grass clippings, kitchen scraps — all go in the run.
Spray your entire coop down with your hose and or a cleaner of your choice. Increasing the pressure on areas with caked-on poop can soften it up and make it easier to scrape off later. Remember, do not use bleach! Scrub everything down; use your brush and scraper to scrub off any caked-on poop.
Some chicken owners say that their chickens don't like walking on small gravel, but it is a longer lasting option to hardwood or shavings so can be very cost effective.
Medium- to coarse-grained sand makes excellent chicken coop bedding in coops that do not have drainage problems and do not get wet inside. Fine-grained play sand or beach sand do not make good bedding as these may cause major health problems for chickens.
Aesthetically, sand looks cleaner than other litter option and is cleaner; the Auburn University researchers found coliform counts, including E. coli, significantly lower in sand than in wood shavings. Sand continues to be recommended by poultry experts and veterinarians today.
While livestock need bedding for a layer of protection between them and the cold, damp floor while they sleep, chickens do not sleep on the ground, they sleep on roosts, therefore, they do not need bedding- chickens need litter on the floor of the coop to manage waste.
This will help keep the chickens warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The insulation will also help to keep the coop at optimum humidity levels. When the chickens are kept at the optimum humidity levels they produce more eggs.
The coop must be predator and weatherproof. The chicken coop can be a converted shed, custom building, or a flat pack purchased from a pet store. Your chooks will need a perch to sleep on set at around 30cm off the ground and straw nesting boxes to lay their eggs in .
Use the 'Deep Litter Method'
To start off with, simply layer pine shavings or similar organic matter over the floor. Instead of cleaning or replacing the waste your chickens accumulate, all you need to do is stir up the bedding with a light rake, and allow the natural movement of your flock to do the rest.
Medium- to coarse-grained sand is the best chicken coop bedding as it's non-toxic, dries quickly, stays clean, is low in pathogens, and has low levels of dust. Sand is a much safer choice than all other bedding materials.
Sand. Sand is a great addition to every dust bath and the one ingredient I would say you really should add if nothing else. The sand serves to exfoliate and really knock loose and parasites and bits of dead skin. It also helps to prevent the dirt in the dust bath from compacting over time.
Although straw is soft, it is not very absorbent, quickly becoming wet from the chicken's waste. A wet bedding is hazardous to chickens because it harbors mold which can make the hens sick. A better chicken coop bedding for the winter months is an absorbent bedding such as pine pellets or hemp.
Put a layer of sand/rubber chippings or gravel down in the run area to help with drainage. Bark chippings can go mouldy so be careful if using these and change regularly. Provide a dry sandbox under cover to allow the hens to dust bath.
Wood chips for the chicken run.
Although chickens prefer other materials as bedding, particularly compost and sand, evidence shows that where wood chips are the only type of bedding they have access to, they'll continue to perform those behaviours like dust bathing and foraging which are necessary to their welfare.
The most basic option for cleaning your chook coop is a mixture of vinegar and water-either ACV or white vinegar will work. Simply mix about 15ml of vinegar with water in a spray bottle. Spray on and wipe off with a damp rag or sponge and voila… clean, fresh smelling coop!
Each time a coop is cleaned, the manure can be thinly spread on a tarp or other impermeable surface to dry in the sun, before adding it to the pile. The drying pile should be protected from precipitation or other water sources, or decomposition (and odors) may occur.
Mix equal parts vinegar and water to create a cleaning solution and mop up the area for an all-natural cleaning. Take a hand brush or thick-bristled broom and scrub the floors and walls to free any remaining droppings, stains, dirt, or debris. Rinse once more. Sweep out any standing water, but let the coop air dry.
WOOD CHIPS
Wood chippings, or play chips as they are sometimes known, are easily cleaned and not quickly trampled into the mud; one of the key reasons they are used in animal enclosures and hen runs is that they are excellent at preventing muddy feet.