Coop floor / bedding

[BantyRooster]

I think you will be much happier with vinyl. Hint: dont glue it down. Secure the edges with lath strips and screws, That makes changing it down the road so much easier. Good luck with your project and have fun with your chickens.

Mike

 

[Dora'smom]

We have OSB, painted, with vinyl--a "cull" piece from Home Depot over it, and it works great under the bedding. I can't imagine having an unfinished surface under there.

Christina

 

[TarzantheChickenMan]

my floor is 3/4inch treated plywood caulked the seams and then i hit it with three coats of heavy duty floor paint it works well and does not allow moisture though but with 12+ inches of pine shaving i the moisture isn't an issue

 

[adkchickmama]

We just finished a new coop and after reading all the tips and posts on BYC about flooring, we went with vinyl. ( a remnant) which I then covered with 1 bag of pine chips and 1/2 bale of hay. The chips were slippery on the vinyl floor and the girls did not like it. so I added teh hay as well when I filled their nests . Two bales also made a nice "step" up to their roost and helps insulate the north wall area. Good Luck.

 

[mstricer]

I dont have a floor I'm using deep litter method. ground DE pine shavings DE straw and more DE. Once week stir up, add DE and straw if needed.

 

[ice329]

Got lucky today... headed to Lowes for a few things to finish the coop and wanted to look at Lino, maybe buy a remnant or end role or something but what a deal they had on brand new vinal.....34 cents a sq foot.. I could not pass it up Less then 20 bucks and the floor will be covered in Vinal.

 

[The Chicken People]

I am amazed that every day I learn something new on BYC. Thanks all! I have a raised ( like four inches?) floor that is unfinished with shavings on it! I am going to be shopping for flooring, screws and I may have lathes already...I just read through this thread and it occurred to me this will add insulation..duh! Also going right now to add more straw for insulation!

 

[gsim]

Definitely do linoleum and do glue it down everywhere. Caulk it all around the perimeter for future possibility of hosing out coop once a year. Cheap and does not retain odors or bacteria. Then whether you go with a tarp or whatever, you will have a floor underneath that will last.

Consider a poop plank, lino over OSB and 24" wide. full length of the roost. If you scrape it daily

you will remove 95 % of the source of odors, humidity, and fumes from your coop, AND your litter will last a year. Do not worry about streaks

because they quickly dry to where they do not stink, and because the chickens do not notice nor care.

I am still using grass clippings and expect them to last a year. I add to them a little all during the grass cutting season and the coop smells so nice. Best of all, they are free. I would not change over because they have done so well for me. If I could get free wood chips, I would use those too.

If the poop plank is not to your liking, you can change over to a tarp system and doing litter as often as you like. Always wear a dust mask when working with changing litter.

 

[newchicksnducks]

Linoleum would be my first choice to lay over the OSB, which would of course have been painted with a porch paint first. If you're wanting something to make it easier to remove the pine shavings later, I read somewhere where a layer of brown paper or cardboard was laid down before the shavings. When it was time to clean the coop, they removed the paper/cardboard with the shavings on top in one easy step. I haven't tried this yet, but seems like a plan

 

[BantyRooster]

Quote:
Have you ever seen what chickens do to cardboard? Not a good idea to put it in the coop. They will scrath down to it eventually, especially if confinded to the coop for an extended period, and then they will eat it. With vinyl flooring securely attatched you can use a plastic snow shovel to scoop out most of the litter, then sweep up the the little bit remaining with a broom. I said plastic because it wont tear your vinyl if you go easy, a metal shovel will. Just something to think about.
Mike