Coop floor help??????

[flygilmore]

So, I've finished my 10'x10' coop. In about another week, I'm going to be putting in the birds.....15 hens and 13 Bantams (hen/rooster mix). The floor in my coop was part of our old deck which was covered in 2"x8" boards. Between each board, there is about a 1/4" gap. Is this going to be ok or do I need to put plywood down? I'll prob. use a combo of straw/shavings for the coop floor and thought that these slits might help in ventilation???? maybe they won't??????

Thoughts?

BTW, if I sheet the floor now, it's going to be a chore going around the bases of my perches etc. etc.

 

[chicklover 1998]

I would just put vinyl down, it will make it easy to clean.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

So, I've finished my 10'x10' coop. In about another week, I'm going to be putting in the birds.....15 hens and 13 Bantams (hen/rooster mix). The floor in my coop was part of our old deck which was covered in 2"x8" boards. Between each board, there is about a 1/4" gap. Is this going to be ok or do I need to put plywood down? I'll prob. use a combo of straw/shavings for the coop floor and thought that these slits might help in ventilation???? maybe they won't??????

Thoughts?

BTW, if I sheet the floor now, it's going to be a chore going around the bases of my perches etc. etc.

You will want to put down a solid flooring in the coop. Gaps, Cracks and Voids are great places for pests to live during the day, only to venture out at night to feed on your birds. I went through my coop and RTVed all the corners, edges and creases; sealing them to keep pests from having a safe place to hide. A solid surface is also much easier to clean when pulling out the old litter and replacing it with fresh.



Here's an old image of my daughter on the day that we painted our coop. If you look at the corner seam behind her, you can see the bead of RTV that I used to seal the gaps.

It's a much small coop than what you describe, but it is so nice to clean and my birds are happy, healthy and pest free.