using pallets for flooring in coop

[ChickenSquat]

After having several inches of rain my coop floor which is dirt ,is now mud. I had an idea of putting pallets down on the dirt/mud floor and covering with plywood,then pine bedding. Whats everyones thought on that.

 

[Raptor Chicken]

Nothing wrong with that.

I used treated 2x6's layed flat covered in 3/4" ply when I built our coop. Its worked great so far, even in heavy rains.

Pallets covered with plywood should be just fine.

 

[HomeofTheChicks]

I have read an article on the different types of flooring you can put in a run when it becomes a muddy mess. I see your idea as a really good one.

 

[aart]

Pallets might be a great temporary solution.
But fixing the drainage around the coop needs to be addressed.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Whats everyones thought on that.

Pretty much like Aart, great temporary solution but does not fix the real problem.

If it is only wet once or twice a year, it's probably not a big problem. If it stays damp much the wood will rot fairly fast. Pallets are not treated so they rot when touching the ground anyway. And if it stays wet that area can start to smell and may house diseases.

Why is it getting wet? When I built mine I added a few inches of clay dirt to the floor and put a berm and swale on the uphill side to divert groundwater runoff. I did not need to drain the water away, I kept it out to start with. I don't know what the right answer for you is but long term, wet is not good.

 

[3KillerBs]

Pallets might be a great temporary solution.
But fixing the drainage around the coop needs to be addressed.

This.

Putting pallets down to get chickens' feet out of the mud is a good solution for a temporary, one-off sort of thing -- when you've had unusual weather or some similar problem that will go away.

But there is no long-term solution other than to fix the drainage. If you just cover mud with pallets and close it in then the floor you spent all that work on will rot out in short order. Not to mention the stink and bacteria from poop that's mixed with the muck under there.

How is the water getting in?

Depending on the answer to that question you might need to dig diversion ditches, install French Drain, create grass swales, have the land professionally re-graded, or move the coop.

Sometimes a temporary solution will be good enough. I'm putting a thick layer of wood chips into Camp Cockerel today because we've had both a wet spring and a recent storm from an unusual direction. In a month that area will be bone dry again. But if the wet were a constant condition I'd have to relocate the structure.

 

[ChickenSquat]

well the coop floor did dry out so I put down some new bedding and their in the coop and not in mud. thanks for all the replies. I guess i'll need to start diverting the rain runoff this summer.