Help with coop on or off ground!!

[adw11]

So I am new to having chickens and am starting to build my coop I need to know weather to have it on or off the ground. And what materials the flooring should be. I am in North FL 1 hr south of Tallahassee. The temperature ranges from 20 or below degrees to 100+ depending on it being the heart or winter or summer. Any input is helpful.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I am not too familiar with your climate or what's best, here in Wisconsin it's best on the ground because of our harsh winters, I would assume Florida is a wetter climate and would be better off the ground, hopefully someone from down south will come and help you more.

 

[adw11]

T yes it can get pretty wet

 

[Ridgerunner]

You can do it either way. There are some advantages and disadvantages to both. The cold isn’t that big of a threat to you, I’ve seen chickens sleep outside in trees in below zero Fahrenheit weather. Just like the wild birds they find a sheltered spot out of the wind when it’s that cold but they can handle the cold really well. The heat is much more dangerous. They need shade when it is that hot.

Are you talking about a coop elevated up high enough so that you can get a wheelbarrow under the door so you can just scrape the bedding out when you change it or one that is just off the ground? If you build a coop with a floor that is just off the ground you have provided Mommy Mouse a great place to raise a family, actually many families. That can attract snakes, by the way. If you elevate it enough so the chickens can get under it they will keep the mice from nesting in that area, but you may need to retrieve eggs or maybe even a sick or injured chicken from under there. Lots of people have coops, sheds, and other outbuildings just off the ground and don’t have bad mouse problem, but mice are attracted to the chicken feed. That makes the potential for mouse problems really high around a coop.

How big do you plan to make it? That will depend a lot on how many chickens you will have and flock make-up. You need to be able to get to every place inside the coop. Again, you might need to retrieve eggs or a chicken, plus you might need to do maintenance or cleaning. A pretty small elevated one isn’t too bad for that but above a certain size you really need to be able to walk in the coop to achieve that.

You might want to follow the link in my signature about room requirements. I don’t give you hard and fast numbers, more things to consider. If you have a flock of all hens the same age, the requirements aren’t that high. If you add one rooster they go up a bit but not that much. But if you add more than one rooster, plan to have a broody hen raise chicks with the flock, or plan to integrate new chickens later, maybe as replacements, the space requirements go up. Flock make-up and how you plan to manage them has a lot of effect on how much room you need.

In general, I find the tighter I pack them the more likelihood there is for behavioral problems I’ll have to deal with, the less flexibility I have to deal with issues as they arise, and the harder I have to work. Chickens are individuals with individual personalities. Some can handle being packed in tightly better than others. If you happen to get one of those hens that occasionally has one of those days the others might appreciate having enough room to avoid her. If I need to isolate a chicken or have to lock them up more than usual for a while it’s good to have the room to do that. The tighter you pack them the more they poop in a small area. You have to work harder to deal with that poop build-up. Some people are out on a regular schedule scooping poop out of the run while others have runs big enough it gets spread out. They really poop a lot at night so having a droppings board under the roosts so you can get that poop out of the coop can greatly extend the time between cleaning the bedding out of the coop.

You want the coop and run to be as dry as reasonable. There are several different reasons for that but the two main ones are related to poop. A wet coop or run is an unhealthy coop or run. Some diseases really thrive in wet soil that has some poop mixed in. Coccidiosis is the first one I think of but there are others. Mold by itself can be dangerous. Another problem is that it stinks when it gets wet. The poop breaks down and produces ammonia. In a normal slightly damp situation that isn’t too bad but if it is wet that process can go anaerobic and stink to high heaven. When the weather sets in wet for a while you may be limited in what you can do, but you need to plan your coop and run to stay as dry as possible. Don’t position them in low spots where water gathers. Put them somewhere they will drain or build them up so they drain and stay as dry as reasonable. This article might give you some ideas.

Pat’s Big Ol' Mud Page (fixing muddy runs):
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-fix-a-muddy-run

Something else to consider, especially in your climate where they have access to the outside practically every day, is that chickens don’t think of so much room in the coop or so much room in the run. They think of how much room total do they have when they need it. That can be in the coop, the coop plus run, or the great outdoors. I could see your coop being mostly wire sided with a roof to keep rainwater and direct sun out (though a lot of rain blows in from the side and sunlight comes in from the sides too). Just put enough sides on one end or build a special area where they can get out of a strong wind at night (think thunderstorms or hurricanes) and keep the food and nests dry. The rest can be open though remember they need shade. It needs to be predator proof. You can look in the “COOPS” section at the top of this page for ideas.

Most building materials come in standard sizes, usually 4’ or 8’ sections. If you build your coop with these dimensions in mind you can usually reduce your cutting and waste quite a bit plus get a larger coop for not any more money. If you are recycling materials then build to those dimensions. When doing this though look at your roof design. For most coops you want an overhang so you can open up the top of the walls and cover that opening with hardware cloth to keep predators out to maximize your ventilation.

I know I’ve made this sound a lot more complicated than it has to be. Lots of people in your climate are very happy with their coops and runs. I’m just trying to give you some things to think of that may help you avoid certain problems. Welcome to the adventure. It’s a fun ride.

 

[adw11]

Thank you that was very helpful.