muppet22 Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Hello all. New to keeping chickens. Have a coop, feed and all the other bits on order - looking forward to getting it all setup. I need some advice on where to put the coop. We have a large patch of redundant concrete that a coop would fill quite nicely. Is there any issue keeping a coup and run and concrete provided obviously it is completely padded with woodchip or shavings? We have an area of grass available too but ideally would like to put the coop on the concrete. If the coop were to be on concrete, what steps need to be taken to make it fox proof? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammy72 Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Sorry I don't have the answer but I am interested in the responses. I currently have my coop and run positioned in a area of soil in my garden and covered with woodchips, secured with omlet screw in pegs and weighed down with sleepers. However, I am already thinking of getting a walk-in run and this could go on concrete but I am not sure if it has to be fixed down (i.e. big bolts into the ground) or if it can be weighed down with slabs. I am sure there are lots of handy-DIY people to give advice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Hi and welcome to the forum . Sounds like you have the best of both worlds having both options . Concrete is excellent for siting a coop (the only downside being there's no soil to scratch about in which they do enjoy). It's easy to clean and is virtually foxproof - the only extra thing you'd need to do would be weigh down the run pretty securely with sleepers or slabs so a fox couldn't push under the run. What type of coop and run are you getting? (Don't worry, we won't throw you off the forum if it's not an Omlet one .) You could always give them some time on the grass during the summer (hah, what summer?) when the grass would recover more quickly, either by moving the whole coop & run onto it or by rigging up some netting which you could then move about as they ruin the grass . Horse bedding is excellent for runs - Hemcore/Aubiose/Easibed/Bedmax are some of the brands available. They all compost down quite well too. Good luck, it's very exciting starting out . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sage Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Hiya I have a 6*9feet WIR on concrete the weight of the run holds it in place. I takes 2 adults to move it for cleaning. I put approx 5cm of woodchip on the floor. Sage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 However, I am already thinking of getting a walk-in run and this could go on concrete but I am not sure if it has to be fixed down (i.e. big bolts into the ground) or if it can be weighed down with slabs. I am sure there are lots of handy-DIY people to give advice... Are you thinking of a DIY or Omlet WIR? Depending on the size of a DIY one, the weight should be sufficient to hold it down. I'm not sure how you would weigh it down with slabs. Mine is on slabs round all the sides and I do have it screwed down at one point but only because it's so windy here. You can see it in my signature link. If you got the Omlet one, I would weigh the skirt down with rocks/sleepers etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammy72 Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 also saw this from another forum user http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=79733#p1106758 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muppet22 Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 Thanks v much for the replies. My coop is a wooden type bought from local farm. It's quite big, plenty of space for the 3 hens we are planning to get. Will get a bunch of pond liner to go underneath. The hens will get to free range a lot as I'll be in the garden a lot. Hopefully the weight of the coop will be enough to weigh it down. Guess could put some sleepers or similar on the roof if not. Is it a good idea to put a perch in the run itself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 That sounds fine. I'd check the run when it arrives, you may find it's heavy enough if it's partly made of wood. There's certainly no harm putting perches in their run. Ikea shoe racks make for good perches but branches and logs work just as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muppet22 Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squiffs Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 I used a plank of wood for a perch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gongladosh Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 ours isn't fixed down but it is quite heavy. another good idea is if you can have either the slabs or concrete cover a greater area than the run so foxes can't dig underneath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
