Poll: Best chicken coop floor

[260906]

I use a dirt floor in my coop. In the summers I like to leave it just plain dirt, as my chickens usually free range most of the day in the warm months, so no need for much litter. In the winter/cold months, I lay hay/straw down for added insulation and it gives the chickens something to peck at when they won't go out in the run. My chickens love the dirt floor because they can make their own dust bath bowls in the dirt, so in the summer they can cool off in the shaded coop while taking a dust bath.

Yes, they love dust baths. I am ready to get the girls out of my yard and in their new pen when their new coop is finished, then I will have a clean back patio and no more "dust bath bowls" in my raised bed garden plots! They got over my garden fence so many times last fall, I gave up and pulled the fence down. I hope I get their new coop done before gardening season this spring!

 

[260906]

Went to Lowe's today looking for a piece of vinyl to put in the coop and came across a clearance shelf in the flooring department and found the 12x12 stick down vinyl tiles .05 cents a piece, $1.28 for the whole floor."score"

I hope that works well for your coop. I always love a good bargain!

 

[chickiegirlsme]

We're new to chickens - just got 3 last year. What we did for a floor was to put down painted plywood, cover it with a layer of ice and water shield (it goes a couple of inches up all of the walls too), and then put down a remnant of linoleum that we got cheap at the local flooring place. We didn't hook the lino down. We just screwed 3" high trim boards all around the edges of the floor to hold it down and to cover the ice and water shield that goes up the walls. Now, when we have to change the lino, we will just have to unscrew the boards, pull it out, and put new in. Seemed like a good idea. Now time will tell. By the way, the ice and water shield was left over from our roof, and the lino only cost us about $20. We already had the paint and trim boards so the plywood was the only thing we had to purchase.

 

[blucoondawg]

I used a 3/4" plywood floor and gave it a generous coat of boilded linseed oil which should preserve it quite well, I will see this spring when I clean the bedding out, at that point I will give it another coat for good measure if it seems to be working well, if not I will go to jack's method of the blackjack. I don't like vinyl flooring as it is slippery and if it has seems in it like the 12 inch square tiles moisture can still get through and even worse it will then be trapped under the vinyl where it can't dry out and it will rot the floor for sure, I prefer wood like I am using with the wood shavings directly on top if it.

 

[jetdog]

Got the vinyl down today and I think it came out pretty good, as I mentioned in a previous post I got the tiles at Lowe's .05 a piece $1.28 for the whole floor, I put 2 coats of paint down before the tiles, should make for very easy cleaning.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Multiple choice was deep liter with a painted wood floor. I just can't see one without the other. Personally I just shellac the plywood floor to seal it. Much easier than multiple coats of primer and paint and quite frankly better. Or you could use a porch and deck urethane paint.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I used a 3/4" plywood floor and gave it a generous coat of boilded linseed oil which should preserve it quite well,

Linseed is a great preservative too. It just takes forever and a day if ever it dries. Sticky stuff.

Shellac or Minwax spar varnish are durable and suitable for exterior use.

 

[BettyJo]

We have done 2 coops, both with CONCRETE floors and a drain. I can't imagine not being able to hose and sanitize the coop if we had deep litter/plywood/linoleum etc. We also have litter tables under their roosts which really helps clean up. A quick scoop once a week and the coop is good. They spend most of the day in a 50 X 70 foot fenced run. 31 Chickens.

 

[blucoondawg]

I have never sanitized a coop and never had an issue

 

[260906]

Our new coop is finished!

It's about 7 1/2 feet by 12 feet and will be roomy for our 9 chickens, since they will spend the daytime running in a pen that is about 30 feet by 170 feet. We went with a dirt floor and plan to use a deep litter method. At the moment, we put wood chips and leaves under the roosts.

We left the front open with just wire for plenty of fresh air. The smaller "building" on the right is a little hut made from scrap materials that we may use for a broody hen to hatch her babies (though I think my daughter has claimed it as a play house). I blocked off that small area beside the broody hut to throw kitchen and garden scraps for the chickens to scratch in.



I got an idea from the internet for the nest boxes on the left side of this picture. I built a simple frame under them to tip them up, so hopefully the hens won't sit on top of them and poo. One of our Orpingtons laid the first egg in there this evening!

The roost bars were free from someone down the road who was trimming trees. I also made a grit dispenser from pvc pipe and the bottom of a gallon vinegar bottle (which you can't see in this picture). Our girls seem to approve.