What is the best ground cover for my chicken coop?
Float and then Fancy'sHardwood wood chips(a play variety with softer edges and a relatively uniform size with very little bark) can provide an excellent coop surface to keep your chickens 'entertained', as well as clean and healthy.
They will love foraging around looking for elusive insects and worms, and it will carefully create a clean barrier for them to live on, out of the mud.Image aboveare our Silver Spangled Hamburgs here at Flyte so Fancy, in our Protection Pen.
If your chickens have a permanent run and they are scratching around on the bare ground or splashing in the mud, add a good layer of hardwood chips to the run and you will have happy chickens!
You don't need a geotextile membrane, you can place the wood shavings directly on the ground or grass. You can also place it on paving, perhaps it is just deep enough and rainwater can drain away.
Much better than bark, which we don't recommend because of the mold spores, and bark gets swept away after rain. Softwoods would break down very quickly and work their way into the mud. Hardwood Wood chips remain on top of the ground and are resistant to all weather conditions. Although it is hardwood, it is still soft enough for the birds and best represents the surface of their ancestral roots in the jungle.
With proper maintenance, a good tile layer can last a year or more. But how do you get the most out of your tile, you may ask?
Tearing and washing wood chips
With proper care, renewing the tile can only be an annual task, and we feel it is best done before the really wet or cold weather arrives.
One of the best ways to keep your hardwood chips clean and fresh for your girls is to rake and rinse with the garden hose regularly, perhaps monthly or biweekly.(we recommend a rose sprayer on the hose to prevent too much disturbance of the underlying soil).
Because the tile is lighter than the mud and soil adhering to it, washing it and raking it back and forth causes the hardwood tile to rise back to the surface and form a clean barrier on top of the mud below.
We made a video about itReplacing and caring for wood chipsas part of our #AskPhill video series.
Disinfectant for your chicken coop
It's entirely possible that your neighbors will think you've gone crazy when they see you, but one of the best ways to keep your tile clean – and prevent bad odors – is to treat it regularly with adisinfectant for poultry.
We recommend mixing the disinfectant powder(for those who need mixing)in a watering can and then go back and forth and water the soil. It is best to do this at dusk, on a dry day after the chickens have been let into the stable.
A good disinfectant, e.gNet-Tex Virocur disinfectant for poultry, cleans and disinfects in one go. It is very effective against fungi, bacteria and viruses and is ideal for washing off hardwood chips. A DEFRA approved disinfectant against all notifiable poultry diseases, it is safe for you and your girls.
Alternatively, you can apply a hygiene powder such asStalosan F disinfectantto prevent the run from odor and absorbing moisture, including harmful parasites. Easy to apply, on a calm windless day, just sprinkle the tile over it after the birds have gone into the coop and it has done its work in the morning.
Ground disinfectant powder for chicken coop
Net-tex soil cleaning powderis an easy-to-use option while running. Use it to treat problems such as worms, eggs, larvae or adult larvae, as well as parasites and bacteria.
Drive Coop and run antiseptic powderis a new generation soil disinfectant containing Yucca and Halamid disinfectant. Effective to keep the soil clean and fresh.
Sprinkle the powder onto the wood chips and let it sit to remove any worms or parasites. Completely safe for chickens (you can also use it in the garden). It's best to do this at night as it will be easier to avoid your horde of girls underfoot.
Performing these simple tasks once a month (or scraping and rinsing more often if necessary) will keep the hardwood tile clean and disinfected. With this care, the wood shavings will remain good for up to a year, so you do not have to remove and refill the poultry house.
Refreshing the wood shavings
When it's time to refresh or replace the wood chips, remove as much as possible - perhaps use it as a top dressing on the flower beds - sprinkle some Sanitiser Powder on the ground and empty some new bags as you go. And that's it.
If you have chosen to have yourPoultry bucketor ride onebase, then this will make handling the tile floor much easier. It will all be housed in the wide wooden plinth.
View the different options we offer for this smart solution. Not only would it help keep your chicken clean, especially if we have another bird flu scare and have to 'confine' our poultry, but it would also act as a safe anti-fox skirt to prevent predators from nesting in your breed.
Time for some math
INbag of chipsDepending on the moisture content, it weighs between 15 kg and 20 kg (capacity 50 liters). It will cover an estimated 100 square feet with a depth of 2 to 3 inches. 10 square feet is an area of 10 feet by 1 foot or approximately 1 meter by 1 meter.
To calculate your run area, multiply the length of your coop by the width and divide by 10. This will tell you how many bags you need. For example, a 9ft x 9ft run would require 8 bags.
9 x 9 = 81, divide by 10 = 8 bags.
If you are not yet using Tile and have any questions, please contact usE-mail besor call us on 01300 345229 to speak to a member of the FSF team. We can advise you on quantities and treatment of your chicken coop to keep it healthy and clean for your girls.
-- -- -
Using wood chips for chickens © Flyte so Fancy Ltd 2022. Author: Anne Weymouth (co-founder and co-Director, Flyte so Fancy Ltd).
