roosting perchs and other questions

I use Hemcore on the floor of the coop which can be bought from horse feed suppliers. Straw shouldn't be used as it can contain pests. Hemcore can also be used in the nesting boxes. Use a product called diatomaceous earth (diatom) to minimise the risk of red-mite which can be painted on high risk areas in a slurry.  Search this site as there is loads of info on how to apply it. Best to treat them for internal and external parasites straight away. Flubenvet is the best wormer and Frontline good for lice treatment and again search the site for advice. I would provide a covered area in the run if you can as it can get a mess especially in adverse weather. Best to keep the birds in the coop during the day and overnight on the first day which helps them settle in.

Ask for advice if you have any questions as you will get loads of help.

Good Luck

Hi Numptyone and welcome. Quite a lot of us use dust free wood shavings/ sawdust. Some people put newspaper down underneath but personally I don't as I found it can hold the damp. If you do a daily poo pick to get the worst of it out, (I use a childs beach spade for this), you should only need to clean the coop out about every 2 weeks. It needs to be dust free as chickens can get respiratory problems if it's not.
Your hens will generally only be in their coop at nightime and to lay, so an area of cover over the run and a sheltered area from wind etc would be a good idea.
If your coop is brand new it should be free of mites but they do need keeping an eye out for and they love to hide under felt roofing.
Have fun with your hens, don't forget to post some pictures on here.

Welcome from me too and don't forget the pictures when your hens arrive 

Can't wait to see pics of your new girls. Good luck for Thursday.

How do you stop yours from jumping down and going under the perches?

OK I'm going to put the can amongst the pigeons  :blink: (so to speak).  I have a different way of managing my coop litter. 

I use the 'deep litter method' which means I have dry litter on the floor of the coop and I never poo-pick and never clean it out.      This system definitely won't suit everyone, but I just wanted to offer it up as another option.

In order for it to work you need to have a completely dry coop floor, totally dry litter, and obviously enough height in the coop to be able to build up the layers.

I just add more litter whenever the current lot seems to be breaking down a bit - just a few hands full each week or so.  And I encourage the chickens to turn the litter over, as that's what keeps it all aerated and stops the poo building up in any one area.

Here's a photo of my coop litter.  This has never been emptied out in the six months I've had the chickens.  There is no smell and the chickens always have clean feet and feathers.  In the pic you can see lots of dry leaves, some pine shavings, some dry grass stalks and the odd bit of poo: