Coops on stilts ?

For us it is an extra space for them outside where they can get out of the weather.

What nivtup said.  Also, a place to hang the feeder where the pellets won't get wet when it rains.  It's also easier to clean when the floor is at waist height, you just rake everything out the door into a muck tub.  Chickens don't need 5-6 vertical feet in the coop, but a short coop at ground level is difficult for humans to deal with.  -Wendy

Quote:

Originally Posted by wsmoak 

What nivtup said.  Also, a place to hang the feeder where the pellets won't get wet when it rains.  It's also easier to clean when the floor is at waist height, you just rake everything out the door into a muck tub.  Chickens don't need 5-6 vertical feet in the coop, but a short coop at ground level is difficult for humans to deal with.  -Wendy

 For me the big thing is it's one less thing I have to dig out every single time it snows.  Once a week at most is much more better than every day.

I have two coops-- both are on "stilts"  (raised coops).  Anyway, for the larger coop, you can see (barely) that my chickens hang out under the coop.  It offers protection from the rain, sun, snow, etc... it's a nice shady spot in the heat.  They also run under there when they hear or see a hawk flying above.  The coop is still easy to get into and now having a raised coop, I've never do it differently.  I have a feed block under there and it doesn't get rained on, and I can put there feed bucket under there too.  It also adds extra square footage to the run without having to build a longer/bigger fence.  I just put hardware cloth around the bottom and I instantly had another 8 X 8 space for them to run in.  The smaller coop below-- it's just going to be a heck of a lot easier to work in and clean out.  I'm not one who enjoys crawling on the ground to get my chores done.  

Elevated keeps it out of the rain splashing up, so should last longer.  Elevated keeps the black snakes out if my neighbors forget to get the eggs while we are on vacation.  Elevated provides shade on hot days, protection on rainy days. Elevated just looks cool!

The main reason my coop is raised, in addition to what others have posted, is to prevent giving rats, mice , or any other pest, a nice hidden place to set up a home of their own

Jack.  

Just what everybody said X2. All my reasons were contained in each post here. Plus once the weather turns cold they can go out and dust bath because the ground under it is not frozen as it lacks moisture to freeze. Also close in two sides in the winter on the prevailing side of winter wind to keep the out of the wind.Before the tenants moved in