Concrete or wood floor?

[dahoon57231]

I am planning a new chicken coop build this spring. Any suggestions on which kind of floor to build. Concrete or wood. Advatages or disadvantages. I have a wood floor in the old one, just wondering about easier cleaning with concrete.

 

[sfw2]

You could go either way. Concrete probably is easier to clean than a plain wood floor. Our coop has a wooden floor, but we covered it with a vinyl floor remnant, for easier cleaning.

 

[patandchickens]

Wood needs to be raised up above the ground beneath it, preferably at least a foot (not just for rot prevention but to prevent it from becoming a rodent haven). Concrete, obviously, needs to be directly on/in the ground. So the two are not interchangeable. If you have a site that may possibly flood at all ever at any time, you need to have a raised wood floor. If it will *absolutely* never be underwater (not even temporarily, not even in a once-in-ten-years event) and is high and well-drained enough that the soil won't be soggy, then ground-level floor is ok.

If you are doing a ground-level floor, concrete is fabulous. (Cover it with sufficient bedding, obviously). However, it is generally a bit expensive (you can't realistically do a decent-sized slab with hand-mixed bags, you either need to rent a good-sized mixer or have a truck pour your slab). VERY LARGE concrete pavers, like at least 18" square, set on a well-tamped very-flat gravel bed are a "decent" substitute, better than dirt but not as good as slab. A dirt floor can be ok too if you take other measures to digproof it and don't have rats or rising ground moisture.

If you have a site that is questionable for staying absolutely 110% dry every hour of every day of every year, then you really don't have much choice, you really ought to do a raised wood floor.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

We have a wood floor in all the coops. But all the floors were painted a couple coats of exterior deck paint.