Hey all, I'm converting a 10'x12' old horse stall into a coop. It currently has a hard red clay dirt floor. Burying hardware cloth is going to be a bit of a challenge for a lot of reasons so I'm considering alternatives. I was thinking about pouring a concrete floor/pad but that has some site and cost concerns. So, now Im thinking about concrete pavers. Lowes has come 2'x2' pavers at ~$8.50 that weight 80+ lbs a piece. I could also make my own to keep the cost down (I got time so using a couple of molds and waiting for them to cure is no problem). How much can a digger predictor move/lift? If a raccoon, possum, fox, etc decided to dig under the walls, how heavy a paver could it lift/push out of the way? ----- Ed
Pavers sound expensive too and getting them to fit could be hard...some one on line used crushed gravel. The kind you lay down for roads and foundations-sorry I can't find the site again or remember the name of it...it's fairy cheap and packs down hard-keep looking
Ed I used pavers on a back yard coop and they worked great... didn`t have the coon/possum/fox issue to deal with..I lived in suburbia at that time. you will have to dig a bit to level for the pavers... maybe rotatiller (rent a heavy duty self propelled jobby) dig up your hard clay. move it out, install your hardware cloth and put the dirt back, install 1/2 the floor with pavers and add sand on top of the other 1/2 for dust baths? I liked the pavers cause the spilled food does nasty smelly things to the ground and you can add DE to the sand for smell and pests. this will solve both issues...
These are for free range chickens so I don't need anything open for a dust bath. The major point of this idea is to not use hardware cloth. The pavers are the replacement. Is it good enough like a concrete pad would be? Leveling will take a lot less work than burying hardware cloth. ----- Ed
I found some free concrete blocks on craigs list from someone who tore up a patio and used that. Took some work getting all the pieces to fit, but hey it was free. Always check craigs list before buying, unless money isnt an issue for you, for me its always an issue.
Thanks. Didn't find any listed for free but I found a local place that claims they are 50% cheaper than the box stores.