Poll: Best chicken coop floor

[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.

 

[Kidhenduckohmy]

Concrete floors are icky.

Why are they icky? I am considering putting our coop in corner of garage and it would have a cement floor. Just wondering what your experience with them is.

 

[260906]

Well, I found out that I'm not done building yet...our poor cochin can't quite get up on the roosts with her short wings and hefty body. I'll have to make some sort of ramp or ladder for her. When we went to lock them up last night, we found her shivering alone in a nest box while all the others were snuggled together on the top roost.

 

[JaceAgain]

Ive heard dirt with a thick layer of sand is the best way to go.



I would not use stickem tile floors, so much stink will get caught between the tiles.

 

[Chickenloving]

Why are they icky? I am considering putting our coop in corner of garage and it would have a cement floor. Just wondering what your experience with them is.

My experience is from my back porch.

Even though the chickens weren't on it but a few hours every day, it was so poopy and stinky. I had to constantly hose it off, which was not always completely effective. I don't think it is a great coop bottom unless it has the deep litter method with it.

 

[Duckopolis]

I use painted wood with wood shavings in it.

 

[mjolrdanlmj]

Is it necessary to use dirt on a coop floor? My coop floor is plain wood, just scrape downed daily and swept out. Planning on using linoleum in the future. I figured in winter I would use dirt and straw for added insulation. My chickens stay outside most of the day and free range on the weekends.

 

[Mehjr10]

I used FRP wall panels or the floor, then deep litter. Easy to clean up and protects the wood sub.

 

[chickiegirlsme]

Our floor has worked well so far as we haven't had to replace the linoleum yet. When I originally posted I forgot to add that we keep a 3" layer of pine shavings on top of the linoleum. Our coop is raised up off the ground, and we go out and scoop the poops each day with a kitty litter scoop. The chickens do scratch down to the linoleum if we're not quick enough (early enough in the morning according to the chickens) to get them out, but there hasn't been any damage so far. I also forgot to add that we have a subfloor that is about 3.5 inches down from the main floor and it is insulated. So (working from bottom to top) with the subfloor, insulation, main floor, the ice and water shield, the linoleum and the shavings, our girls seem quite comfortable. We used the insulation because the coop is raised about 2' off the ground and we live in western Maine where it can get quite cold. We took advantage of the space below the coop by putting a hard plastic kiddy pool there and keeping dirt mixed with a little wood ash and diatomaceous earth for dust bathing. It's also nice and shady and more protected from snow.

 

[260906]

Thanks for the update, chickiegirlsme. I bet your hens love the protected, shaded area under their coop for dust bathing.

I've been using the deep litter method for over a year now (well, actually we used the same method in their tiny coop for three years before the big coop was built). It seems to work great for them. We bought five chicks this spring which we recently incorporated in with the "big girls," and they love dust bathing in the leaves,etc, on the coop floor.

Your method sounds like it would be so much nicer to look at, but I just don't know how I could find the time to scoop poop every day. I like that the deep litter method is so low-maintenance. I just scoop out most of the litter a couple of times per year and throw fresh litter in there. All the hens seem happy and healthy.