building new coop please advise so that we can use deep litter method

[mama of 4 girls]

We need some advice because we've been reading many articles that seem to conflict. In order to use deep litter method, does the coop have to sit directly on the ground? If so, how do you predator proof from digging animals? Should the hardware cloth cover the entire bottom or just be tacked along the perimeter? Can we use deep litter method successfully on a hard floor covered in laminate? Should deep litter be used inside the coop at all or just in the run? We will probably free range as often as possible. Anyone use dry leaves in their coops as bedding? Will this work with deep litter? So worried about the health of our birds? We've been reading all kinds of things...people use sand, birds developing respiratory problems, people use wood shavings, also respiratory problems, straw-too wet, smelly. We want to start off right. Please advise!

 

[MotorHen]

I built mine in an old dog kennel with a concrete floor. We will free range them during the day as well. I hope there's nothing wrong with them being on concrete. They are still just chicks so I haven put them in the coop yet.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

People use many things for litter. Pine shavings are inexpensive by the 3.5 cft compressed bag (about $6) so that's what I and many use. To be "deep" litter you'd be using at least 6 inches of material and as it lowers you fill back up. With that much material the waste gets mixed in very well and dry composts. There's no need to clean it excepting once or twice a year.

First coop I built I only allowed for 3-4 inches of liter so need to scrap off the top layer every two months and mix rest together and add more shavings. This would not be considered "deep".

 

[moonflowerfarms]

We deep litter, and our coop was built on top of a pallet. So that lifts it a bit off the ground to allow for the straw to build up. You can put your hardware thread either down into the ground, or flat under the coop. We didn't put any under the coop because they couldn't get under there anyway. We ended up ripping it out of the ground for the part of the coop in front of the door. The way it hung, it kept catching the wire no matter what we did. If I were going to do it again, I would dig it down into the ground. Good luck!