Coop Floor Dilemma

[Aunt Angus]

Ok -

Downed a cop of really strong coffee, ran outside and measured again. I can do 112 sq ft of run if I move some bell peppers. I think I am going to say that that's enough for 4 hens, build it, and get my 4 hens. Hubby is a great guy, but rarely compromises. I'm not going to let this opportunity pass.

Gonna stick with the walk in coop and a dirt floor BUT I will go with booth2010's suggestion and make a "sandbox." I'll run and get more hardware cloth and appropriate fasteners once the store opens. Paired with a 2 ft skirt around both run and coop, I should be good to go.

Thank you for ALL of your comments and for the food-for-thought!!!

What a roller coaster morning! It is 6:47 am here, but my body thinks it's 8:47 pm in Vietnam still. Oh to be in my 20's again... when things like sleep didn't matter so much...

 

[booth2010]

Thank you for ALL of your comments and for the food-for-thought!!!

That is why for every hobby I have I join a forum, or 2, on the subject. It is so nice to be able to get help from those that have been in the hobby for years and to use others as a sounding board for ideas. Almost always a solution can be reached for any problem. I am new to this myself and haven't even had chickens yet. My coops is almost complete and my chickens have been ordered, due Oct, but I have done months of research and am on this site daily reading others posts.

 

[Aunt Angus]

That is why for every hobby I have I join a forum, or 2, on the subject. It is so nice to be able to get help from those that have been in the hobby for years and to use others as a sounding board for ideas. Almost always a solution can be reached for any problem. I am new to this myself and haven't even had chickens yet. My coops is almost complete and my chickens have been ordered, due Oct, but I have done months of research and am on this site daily reading others posts.

Me, too. Me, too. I have been looking for months now, too, and I am chickenless as of yet. That's what I think is most confusing: it's all speculation for me at this point. I will do what I planned and make changes if necessary, I suppose. Just don't want necessity to arise from a deceased chicken, ya know?

 

[DobieLover]

Gahh! I have spent months coming up with a design based off BYC posts, but I keep hearing that I am wrong and inviting a whole host of problems.

I can't do 1200 sq ft (I'm jealous, booth2010!). I can probably do maybe 96-100, but that is asking a lot of my yard. My neighbors have more chickens in smaller set-ups and haven't had problems. I have one neighbor who free ranges 100% of the time (no coop, even) and hasn't lost any to predators. I thought if I did the hardware cloth apron around the coop and the run (as suggested by many on BYC) it'd suffice. And I keep an organic garden, so I liked the idea of the DLM on a bare dirt floor. But that will allow rats and weasels in...

I should also mention that I have a dog. She's not a Great Pyrenees or anything cool like that. She's a doxie, and an excellent ratter. And squirreller. And snaker. And she took out an opossum a couple of years ago (scariest thing I've seen in a while). And I have 2 cats. One is useless, but the other is pretty darn fierce - I once saw him snatch a pigeon out of midair. He's kind of a geezer now, but still gifts me lizards and mice.

I'm sorry to be such a Debbie Downer... I just want to do everything correctly, and I am exhausted at the moment (just returned from Vietnam on Monday - severe jet lag!). I am overreacting.

I need some coffee.......

I haven't finished reading all the replies. But I am also new to chickens and did the same level of research. Same frustrating end... I'm so confused!
As others have mentioned, you will work it out. Don't get discouraged. It's worth it!
I too went with the DLM. But my coop is 2' off the ground with vinyl peel-n-stick tile over primed plywood. I use hemp for my litter. Once the whole process gets going, you can use DLM over any surface. I did break up some soil and sprinkle it into my hemp an added some DooKashi to initiate the process. I have a hand held 3-tined fork I stir the litter with about every other day. No odor and my flock of 11 have been in the coop since 5.5 weeks old. They will be 15 weeks on Monday. I have yet to add fresh hemp to the litter. It's very dry and very low in dust.
When it comes time to clean out the litter, keep about 1" worth of the old bedding and mix it in with the new so it will inoculate it and the whole process will keep going.
My flock spends very little time in the coop. I also free range part time. But my DH is retired so the birds are out of the run at least 85% of their waking hours. But I went with closer to 18 sq ft per bird when I built it and I don't regret making their run that big. It makes me feel better when I can't let them out because we'll be gone for the day.
About 130 sq ft is under the coop or a poly carbonate roof with wood chips and logs for roosting and another 65 sq ft is open and over soil/grass. The entire run is enclosed in 1/2" hardware cloth with a 2' apron of HC around the perimeter.

 

[booth2010]

Me, too. Me, too. I have been looking for months now, too, and I am chickenless as of yet. That's what I think is most confusing: it's all speculation for me at this point. I will do what I planned and make changes if necessary, I suppose. Just don't want necessity to arise from a deceased chicken, ya know?

My biggest worry isn't the coop or run or raising the chicks, its more of all these issues that could be wrong with the chick that there are no fixes for or that I am not prepared to deal with like cross beak or wry neck. There is nothing to be done to prevent it and you wont see it with day old chicks from what I have read. There are so many things that can go wrong. I'm just going to cross my fingers that there are no health issue with my first batch of chickens, or if something comes up its months or years away so I can be more familiar with chickens in general.

 

[Aunt Angus]

My biggest worry isn't the coop or run or raising the chicks, its more of all these issues that could be wrong with the chick that there are no fixes for or that I am not prepared to deal with like cross beak or wry neck. There is nothing to be done to prevent it and you wont see it with day old chicks from what I have read. There are so many things that can go wrong. I'm just going to cross my fingers that there are no health issue with my first batch of chickens, or if something comes up its months or years away so I can be more familiar with chickens in general.

So true! The thread on Emergencies/Diseases/Injuries is utterly TERRIFYING. I already have medicine stockpiled based off a list in another thread). My only hope is that if I am as prepared as I can be and have built the safest impossible environment and make sure I feed them the right food, a lot of those nasties can be avoided!

At least, that's what I HOPE.

 

[myluckychucks]

I am now thinking I will not get chickens. There is too much conflicting information, and I don't think there is enough I can do.

 

[myluckychucks]

Hi Aunt Angus. Did you build your coop? I sure hope so, the enjoyment of keeping chickens outweighs all the planning you are going through.
The size of your coop also depends on the disposition of your breed of hens. (get gentle breeds)
The coop is big enough. period. you will be letting them free range.
a dirt floor will get smelly, the ammonia from chicken droppings will seep into it. Plain wood, NOT CEDAR OR PRESSURE TREATED is good. ( keep it natural) var mints won't get through the wood. no sleepiness nights.
I've had chickens 35 years, replaced the floor twice, easy as pie
Just do it. you will learn as you go
Good luck

 

[Jack Speese]

I've had coops with both hard and dirt floors and there are pros and cons to both. Your idea of a hardware cloth apron sounds good to me, and as long as you keep things clean I don't think you'll have a rat problem. For a small well-maintained flock I think a dirt floor is fine (and certainly cheaper!) provided that it stays dry even during extremely wet weather. I think your coop and run are plenty big enough especially if you also plan to let your birds forage. My present coop is 8 x 8 with a raised wood floor(it can be wet here in the South), with an attached 320 sq ft run with a top, and I have 17 hens (7 NH Reds, 7 Delawares, 2 Blue Cochins, 1 mixed-breed Blue Cochin that hatched this spring...one of the NH "hens" turned out to be a rooster, which I since got rid of because he turned extremely aggressive). Much as I and my birds would like it, I can't let my birds free range because there are too d*** many hawks around.

 

[keltown]

Hi, there. I am building a coop for a chicken-filled future. I have read just about every BYC thread dealing with coop floors, have taken into consideration many contributors' suggestions and advice, viewed hundreds (probably thousands) of images of coops and runs... I didn't want to start a new thread without first doing my due diligence, but despite my best efforts at self-edification, I still can't make a decision about the coop floor. I'd appreciate some feedback, if you are so inclined...

Background info:

• My coop will be 4' x 8' for 4 (maybe 5) hens
• Run will be 8' x 8'
• The ladies will free range part of every day and most weekends
• It will be a walk in coop
• I wanted a dirt floor for compost via the DLM
• I live in Northern California in a semi-rural area; won't be a problem keeping things dry here
• I've got raccoons, skunks, opossum, owls, hawks, rats, mice
• Got enough hardware cloth for an apron around the whole perimeter

After reading, I am now worried about rats. I still want a dirt floor, but don't want rats in my coop.

Some things I've considered:
1) Raising the coop a bit, putting in a floor, laying linoleum or applying a water-proofing membrane, attempt a modified DLM
Pros: Increased critter fortification
Cons: Cost, more work/time, higher profile that might annoy the neighbors, losing the dirt floor

2) Burying hardware cloth under the coop (not the run) and burying it beneath enough dirt that I can still enjoy a dirt floor
Pros: I still get a dirt floor, increased critter fortification
Cons: Lotsa work/time, cost, not sure how long the hardware cloth will hold up and maintain efficacy

3) I've become paranoid and need to just go with my original plan
Pros: I don't have to spend any more money than I already have, I get the dirt floor I want, DLM is good to go
Cons: Possible lost sleep over critter concerns, having to admit hubby is right about the paranoia thing

Good gravy.
I am a hot mess.


Help a girl out? What should I do? I'm starting to build THIS MORNING!!!! T minus 3 hours and counting..........