# Cover for loft floor



## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

My new shed loft is going to have a 3/4" plywood floor that I will have to scrape. What is the best floor covering to use to keep it dry? I have seen wood pellets and chips. I was at a loft one time where a guy feed on the floor, and a couple inches of feed was his cover. I would like to see his feed bill. I will have to see how this type of floor works.


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## Zippy (Nov 20, 2011)

Wow his floor was all feed? That can't be healthy, lol. I had sand as a kid and loved it. I would love to put sand back down but read it's not good for several reasons.


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## First To Hatch (Jul 19, 2009)

If you can find it from a farmer http://www.maiskolven.eu/en.html


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## Zippy (Nov 20, 2011)

I wonder how they clean corncobs? Maybe you don't?


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## sreeshs (Aug 16, 2009)

I have concrete floor and I use wood shavings/chips.
Easy to procure, easy to use, good moisture absorption and easy to dispose.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

I have access to ground corn cob, hardwood saw dust and wood pellets. I am leaning towards wood pellets. I was in a nice loft last year that the guy used wood pellets and just raked the poop chunks up every so often and put more in there as needed, and it was one of the nices loft I visited. Wood pellets are cheap also.


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## fishbone (Nov 24, 2013)

i like the wood pellets too.
makes for a real easy clean up.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

I think if your going to do it and not scrape at lease a few times a week I would go with the pellets as they don't blow around like the pine curls would.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

spirit wings said:


> I think if your going to do it and not scrape at lease a few times a week I would go with the pellets as they don't blow around like the pine curls would.


Yes you're right. I originally started out in my old loft with pine shavings and what a mess, thats what made me go to slat floors at that time. I don't have the time or money to do slat floors in this one, because I have to rebuild the whole shed too.


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## alby68 (Mar 18, 2013)

*floor covering*

I have used ground corn cob in my trays under the floor of the nestboxes and found it molds quite quickly from the moisture in the dropings. hardwood sawdust would be very hard on your lungs and probably the same for your birds. I have not used the pellets yet,but may give them a try. right now I have the fine chips and sawdust combined and my lungs hurt from breathing it too much-and it takes quit a while to clean the droppings out of it. I am going to take the sawdust out and put sand in next. it sifts quick with a dustpan with the bottom cut out and a coarse screen hot-glued in, like cat litter, and has way less dust. and the waist is going right into my composter and garden. repurposed...YAH!


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## Rod Hultquist (Aug 23, 2009)

I like using straw. It is inexpensive and does a go job holding down the dust.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

Straw would be my last choose, it hold too much moisture. I have been in a lot of lofts where they just use straw and they were the most disgusting lofts I have ever been in. I have been in some where I had to get out because I could not breath and it didn't seem to bother the owner. I may be stepping on someone's toes and if I am I am sorry but thats what outsiders think but won't tell you when they enter a loft with bad hygiene.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

both corn cobb and and straw mold easily.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

I think I will get a few bags of wood pellets and store them till I get ready. They are easy to get this time of year.


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## outcold00 (Aug 6, 2007)

spirit wings said:


> both corn cobb and and straw mold easily.


I agree with this statement. I have used corn cob and it retains moisture.


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## outcold00 (Aug 6, 2007)

Shadybug Lofts said:


> My new shed loft is going to have a 3/4" plywood floor that I will have to scrape. What is the best floor covering to use to keep it dry? I have seen wood pellets and chips. I was at a loft one time where a guy feed on the floor, and a couple inches of feed was his cover. I would like to see his feed bill. I will have to see how this type of floor works. [/QUOTE
> 
> I have 3/4" plywood in my loft and I dont use any covering. I dont have any problems with moisture. The droppings are dry. I usually scrape every 2 weeks. As long is your loft is well ventilated you shouldnt have any problems.


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## Silver Wings (Jan 27, 2014)

I have lived many places throughout the USA, I think this has more to do with a VERY 'local' set of circumstances than product. Humidity is a key role in mold or lack there of. Add to that the moisture content of how well (or not) a building is put together and you have opened up many variables, let's not just assume that one product (corn cob, sand, straw) is the perfect answer. While sand might work well in some places for example, it wouldn't do well in windy areas...


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## FallCreekFlyers (Jul 26, 2012)

*Loft flooring*

I use cotton seed hulls come in 50 lb bags from local feed store used in cattle feed mixes to add fiber. Only in winter, the rest of time scrape weekly. The bag says 8% protein, by product of cotton seed oil production. At one time this was a standard floor covering in poultry production. Dries quickly and easy to clean out makes great additive to flower beds and gardens Biggest issue here is droppings freezing to floor and these stop that, as far as dust once they break down and start making dust, time to add new over top or clean and add new. My other loft has removable lumber frame wire covered floor panels over wood floor this is much better and I am thinking of making these panels to retrofit for my other loft this spring.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

What is the price of the cotton seed hulls?


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

I'm sure at some point I will hate this floor and have to put some kind of slat or wire floor in, but I have to try this first.


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## FallCreekFlyers (Jul 26, 2012)

*covering*

$10 something tax included one bag puts 2 inches deep in 8x12.


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## flight (Dec 29, 2011)

I use play sand and love it so far. I use regular window screen to sift it once a week and throw the droppings in the compost bin. I made something that looks like a bingo ball turner I throw everything in spin it all the sand drops to the floor and droppings stay in. I thought maybe the birds would eat all the sand but so far they don't they like the grit better.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

FallCreekFlyers said:


> $10 something tax included one bag puts 2 inches deep in 8x12.


That price sounds good. I will have to see if they have it around here. I wonder what would happen if you mixed it with wood pellets? My lofts is only 4 x 8, so it should go farther. Thanks


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## robdawg (Jan 3, 2010)

I've used straw, corn cob, wood shavings and it all sucks. Sooner or later you've got to clean. I've spent 5 hrs. cleaning out my 6x12 breeder loft with each of these floor coverings. I picked up some underlayment (thin, smooth plywood) covered the entire floor and countersunk some screws in the corners and along the seams. I had some framed expanded metal I got from a guy that used them for a mobile platform on his bus for Burning Man and laid it over the top. Works great. Scrape once a month and it takes me 10 minutes from start to finish. Check Craigslist for expanded metal. That's where I found mine. Good luck.


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## Zippy (Nov 20, 2011)

Recently put two bags of wood pellets down in my breeding section and although I like the smell I'm not sold on it. The pellets find there way into the waterer and feeders and nothing sits level on the pellets. It does look clean because other than the white of droppings much of the other blends right in. I scraped the other pens today and went in with the breeders and thought wow it looks fine in here. I am gonna take them out this week, I get real pleasure at scraping and removing the droppings and the way the loft looks after it's done and the pellets inhibit that activity.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Zippy, you're right. Also much easier to check the dropping for health, when you don't have the bedding.


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## ERIC K (Mar 29, 2010)

The best thing I've ever seen or tried myself was big chunks of western pine bark. I'm talking the 2 to 3 inch size. It is very absorbent and smells nice. I got it on a close out sale at some greenhouse and can't find it any more. 5 bags covered an 8x14 area and it was fresh looking for 6 months . Its a little funky walking on the stuff yourself and you will still get little piles under the perches after a while that can easily be picked up and the birds were a little confused when I first put the bark in but they got very comfortable with it and even had a few nest right on the bark. Plus no dust at all.
I first got the idea from a breeder who had 100's of birds . You will eventually have to clean it up and start over but if your not over crowded with birds it could last for up to a year. He said he replaces his once a year and orders a truck load each spring from a landscape supply company and any extra get placed in he wife's flower garden for looks. 
I also found that most of the bark I removed from my loft after 6 month was still in good shape so I recycled it around bushes and plants in our yard with the idea that the poop would add nitrogen to the soils when it was rained on.


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## aarongreen123 (Jan 26, 2005)

shady did you have any luck on the cotton seed hulls? are the pellets your guys are refering to the kind used in pellet stoves? are the ones they sell for horse stalls really any different? if so i'm sure the ones marketed for animal husbandry are twice the price for the same product.


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## ERIC K (Mar 29, 2010)

I have tried the pellets made for wood stoves which are under $5. a bag. They work fine but after some time they break down to a pulpy saw dust like material. You need to remember that what ever you put down will eventually need to be picked up alone with the droppings.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

aarongreen123 said:


> shady did you have any luck on the cotton seed hulls? are the pellets your guys are refering to the kind used in pellet stoves? are the ones they sell for horse stalls really any different? if so i'm sure the ones marketed for animal husbandry are twice the price for the same product.


I'm not ready for the floor litter yet. I am thinking of putting in metal floors, depends on the cost. If I use pellets it will be the stove kind. I would think the pellets would be the same for horses or stoves. I will ask my daughter she works at an equine center. I have been in lofts with wood pellets and out of all the lofts I visited with litter floors they were the cleanest and nicest lofts. I think they just rake it around and remove the big clumps.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

I did use loft dressing and wood shavings in the nest boxes this year and it made things a lot easier to clean and eliminated odors.


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## Feather foot (Feb 19, 2014)

Natural Granulated Floor Covering


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

I have had a spectacular breeding season so far. I lost a few eggs from freezing in early Jan. Then I got a handle on things and put a heater in the breeding loft and things took off from there. I lost one baby early on in the pen, I still haven't figured that one out yet. It was about 4 days old, I think it may have been tramped on. They have 2 more now and their fine. I have 12 babies now, and 5 due to hatch soon. I medicated this year before breeding season, the best thing I ever did.


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## aarongreen123 (Jan 26, 2005)

i have had the worst breeding season ever, broken eggs, babies that hatch and then don' tmake it, babies that start to hatch and don't finish. i hate it. i shut it all down to revisit my setup and i think i have a handle on it now, but it has been very frustrating. not sure if its the unusual cold we've had or what, but one thing is the batch of birds i bought last year, belgium white racers, have been absolutely horrible parents. they just dont sit tight, and seem to lose interest. my intent was to breed a few from these birds and then sell them, as i don't keep prisoners at all, but now i'm questioning if i even want offspring from them.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

aarongreen123 said:


> i have had the worst breeding season ever, broken eggs, babies that hatch and then don' tmake it, babies that start to hatch and don't finish. i hate it. i shut it all down to revisit my setup and i think i have a handle on it now, but it has been very frustrating. not sure if its the unusual cold we've had or what, but one thing is the batch of birds i bought last year, belgium white racers, have been absolutely horrible parents. they just dont sit tight, and seem to lose interest. my intent was to breed a few from these birds and then sell them, as i don't keep prisoners at all, but now i'm questioning if i even want offspring from them.


Sounds like you birds may be sick, they will not sit tight if they are. A lot of babies dying is a good indication too.


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## aarongreen123 (Jan 26, 2005)

everything looks and feels normal, what did you medicate with?


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

I used Furaltadone powder. I did it 21 days


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## 3G loft (May 25, 2013)

Corn cob bedding works real good it keeps things dry 
.One bag where I live is like 4 bucks and covers my 4x8 loft.


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## ERIC K (Mar 29, 2010)

3G loft said:


> Corn cob bedding works real good it keeps things dry
> .One bag where I live is like 4 bucks and covers my 4x8 loft.


I wish I could get corn cobs for $4 . Most places around here only have the ground up Kay Tee stuff and it expensive .


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

I have to go to the taxidermy tannery this week to get salt, I know they sell corn cob bedding by the 50 lb bag for in dust drums. I will check the price. Wouldn't that be dusty?


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## aarongreen123 (Jan 26, 2005)

Shady, can I use that while some are feeding chick's? If not, what is safe to treat them with while there are babies in the loft?


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## 3G loft (May 25, 2013)

Shady the corn cob bedding that I use isn't dusty at all.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

aarongreen123 said:


> Shady, can I use that while some are feeding chick's? If not, what is safe to treat them with while there are babies in the loft?


No you can't use meds while you have babies. That is why I did it before pairing, last year I got cought with them getting sick durring pairing and it set my program back 2 months. Here is what I do now and believe me I tried everything out there. This has been working for me since last summer. I use health gard everyday Mon thru Fri. This stuff is the greatest stuff I ever saw It is a little pricey about 40 bucks for a quart but it last a long while. I put 1/2 teaspoon in a medium size waterer. It will keep your birds alive during sickness untill you can get them back to heath. Then I use sal bloc, this is about 12 bucks for a container. it keeps the salmanilla down. I use it on Sat and Sunday. I also worm with mexidectin once a month or when I remember for mites and worms. I haven't seen either since I started using it and I had lice, mites and worms before, I know it works on the worms too because I test the droppings. I also give them some garlic water maybe once a month. I give all this right through breeding season their on it all right now.


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## doveman2 (Jul 22, 2012)

this might of been answered what about a sand floor. I feed out of a trough grit is in a some what of a splash proof container. and it is dry. all i do is rake and change sand now and then. or am i doing something wrong?


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## doveman2 (Jul 22, 2012)

what about a sand floor ? I feed out of a trough and water is covered and grit is in a some what spill proof container all i do is rake the poop and be done. am i doing it wrong? my loft is dry


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

doveman2 said:


> what about a sand floor ? I feed out of a trough and water is covered and grit is in a some what spill proof container all i do is rake the poop and be done. am i doing it wrong? my loft is dry


Why do you think you are doing something wrong? If it's dry and it works for you I wouldn't change it.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

I know that there are a million things being used on loft floors. I just wanted to narrow down the field so I wouldn't have to try a bunch of different things. I wonder what would happen if you mixed some, like wood pellets and corn cob. The corn cob would fill in between the wood pellets.


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## ERIC K (Mar 29, 2010)

I mix straw and clay kitty litter or kitty litter and wood shavings. I've used sand before too . Most anything that will help keep the floor dry and is cheap and easy to clean up and dump some where is okay in my book.


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