kootchman
concrete, zoological, veterinary, aquarium, marine mammal, poultry concrete constructions are not “cheap” concretes. A residential grade concrete.. won’t cut it. Uric acid and nitrogen, urea and nitrogen, and ammonia nitrogen (UAN/UN/AN) will damage the concrete and corrode the reinforcement steel/mesh.it;s a time of exposure and temperature thing…and the feed you use… In commercial settings, these types of concrete have water cement ratios of .40 or less..non soluble, inorganic pore blocking agents, which means some pricey chemicals and a batch plant. The big boxes have crap concrete until ya hit the 5000 psi or better mark. If ya choose 5000 psi.. you can add polypro fibers yourself to make it more crack resistant..compare prices of crack resistannt concrete and 5000 psi and adding it yourself,,,might save a few bucks that way If ya do use a packaged concrete.., use a silicate surface densifier and a hard, steel trowel finish. It’s cheap stuff keeps bacteria and manure retention to a minimum. This an old concrete practice for WSU animal husbandy barns Not quite a “purpose designed” mix design.. but ok for this use.
http://www.concretenetwork.com/suppliers/densifiers/usa-and-canada/)
. if you can find some old clay bricks… better. still not affected at all by nitrogenous or acid compounds. And you are recycling or repurposing… and chickens think it looks cooler..