Am I being too fussy about flooring?

[JokinOkie]

Hi All--I'm getting the coop up and I'm thinking about predators, rats in particular. The coop is elevated on concrete deck pier blocks, and will have 1/2" ply floors. Someone suggested that I put a layer of hardware cloth on the bottom of the plywood to make it more rodent-resistant. Does that make sense, or is it going overboard?

 

[NoSpringChick]

I will be putting linoleum down on top of the plywood for easy cleaning. Ollies has it really cheap.

 

[Dawn419]

Hi and Welcome to BYC!

I like the idea of hardware cloth under the plywood for rodent-proofing. Especially if rats are going to be a problem for you. If you don't mind the extra expense, I say go for it. Skip and I don't mind spending extra here and there for our birds, especially when it comes to predators and the birds' safe-keeping.

NoSpringChick brought up using linoleum on the inner-coop floor. We have our main coop set up that way and I really like it. Makes cleaning a breeze.


Dawn

 

[CathyB]

Quote:
I just asked DH if we could go to Ollies and get some to put on the coop floor! He does not want to put anything on the floor. I talked him into something but now he is saying he will line the floor with a tarp and then put the deep litter

Maybe if it is dirt cheap he will go for it! We got my daughters carpet there so we know they have nice stuff sometimes!

 

[Davaroo]

Am I being too fussy about flooring?
Yes. But if it makes you happy, then why not?
The chickens wont care what's on the floor, I assure you. They're rather ungrateful wretches, and will just as likely try to eat whatever you put down.

The one useful thing linoleum might do is help deter rats or mice from digging in from below. Some traps and a couple of big female cats might do a better job, come to think of it.

 

[NoSpringChick]

Dawn, I wish I knew about the hardward cloth "under" the plywood...to deter mice & rats. Somehow I missed that post when researching for our coop. What a great idea. I remember a friend telling us about the ratzapper, however, it would have to be placed somewhere so the chickens couldn't get to it....check out the site:

http://www.ratmousezapper.com/


Ollies had a 6' x 8' precut piece of linoleum for only $16.99, however, if there are opened packages they sometimes take less. It wouldn't hurt to check it out.

A better idea would be to place an ad on Craigs list for a piece for free...you'll just need to pick it up. Freecycle.org is another great list for your local area. Good luck.

I learn something new everyday!

Terri

 

[patandchickens]

Personally I would not bother putting hardware cloth under the coop floor unless I had specific reason to expect a rat problem - living in the city, or already having rats in the barn, or whatever. Even then, your first line of defense is still just making sure the coop is entirely EXPOSED. If it's raised, put it WELL above the ground (2' is not unreasonable), keep brush and junk away from it, basically make a rat have to sit out in the open if he wants to chew his way in. That will go a long way towards discouraging them. You can always retrofit flashing to the coop if a problem does crop up.

Pat

 

[Peeps]

Another thought, if the chickens are allowed to roam around the outside of the coop, they will go after any rats or mice.

 

[JokinOkie]

Quote:
That makes sense. The foundation is sitting on concrete pier blocks, so it's a bit more than 12" off the ground at its lowest point. I'll skip the hardware cloth for now (already over budget on this project, so less is definitely more).

-J