coop floor

[shmeggs]

getting ready to start building new coop. my coop now uses the ground for the floor. im thinking of having a wood floor in this one. would it be best to use treated wood on the floor because of moisture floor chickens using bathroom or water get spilled occasionally.

 

[Judy]

Treated wood is fine. For ease of cleaning, you will probably want to cover it with some sort of vinyl floor covering.

Mine is dirt, which is fine with me -- but whatever you prefer!

 

[Bogtown Chick]

You could go treated wood on your floor. Keep in mind that the treated wood is made with chemicals that have unknown effects on chickens (because nobody studies these sorts of things) but also I think I've heard that treated wood has been removed from playgrounds, etc. So many say it can leach the not so nice preserving chemical. One thing you could do is just cover that floor with a remnant of linoleum from your local flooring store. It makes cleaning out the coop a lot easier and then you won't have to worry about the treatments on that wood as much. I'm assuming you have the framework for the floor up off the ground on blocks or something? It may be a non issue if you have air passing under your coop.

 

[Judy]

Treated wood is (supposedly) much safer now than it used to be, when it was removed from playgrounds. I believe the treated wood that was removed from playgrounds had arsenic in it. At any rate, the method to treat has changed in recent years.

Of course, it is still very unlikely that anyone has done any studies on how the current treatment method affects chickens. But people here commonly recommend using it. Usually, the chickens are not in direct contact with it, as it is used for in-ground posts, or for floors which are then covered with another material.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/8790.html

It looks like from a recent website and another article that you can still find CCA or chromated copper arsenate treated wood. (Bluish/green looking lumber) It is still available. I think if you are planning to free range your chickens a bit in your yard or most of the time. It's a non-issue for average life-span of a chicken. The lower boards on my covered run are pressure treated. My birds are only in the run when the ground is frozen and the yard they usually free range is deep in snow...so my concerns for them getting problems from these boards is next to zero. But I think the OP should know that some think it a concern. Also should be noted that oils from cedar are considered a respiratory irritant to chickens. I inadvertantly trimmed some nest boxes out in it. But with just a few boards and lack of strong odor that I can smell of cedar I don't have any respiratory issues with my birds.

 

[TheEggCollecter]

Treated wood is best although put a rubber mat or linoleum on the wood.

 

[henless]

My coop has a dirt floor, which is great since I will be using the DLM (deep litter method). If you put down wood, I would get some kind of cover for it. Either linoleum or someone on here used some black heavy duty rubber coating that worked well for them. I just don't remember where I read that.

 

[Judy]

I've read that some of the stuff they use for pickup truck bed liner works well. I suspect that's the black rubber stuff. Probably at an Auto Zone or similar auto parts store.

 

[henless]

I found it!

It's a rubberized roof coating called Blackjack #57. You can get it at Lowe's.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/842037/dirt-floor-vs-raised-wooden-floor-coop-construction

Go to post #7 and you can read about it.

 

[Latestarter]

I've read that some of the stuff they use for pickup truck bed liner works well. I suspect that's the black rubber stuff. Probably at an Auto Zone or similar auto parts store.

The DIY truck bed liner kits at Autozone and the like are VERY expensive... like up to in excess of $100.00 per gallon!

I have been exchanging Emails with a company called Grizzly Grip http://www.grizzlygrip.com (a roll/brush-on truck bed liner product), which I selected as the best fit above all the others based on price and product comparisons (done online). I was convinced that that was the way I was going to go! Just on a whim I came on here to see if anyone else had done this. Wow, what an eye opener!

5 gallons of that colored rubberized polyurethane product was going to cost ~$380.00 (the LEAST expensive of the whole group, plus shipping and handling!) and the only thing it has over the Blackjack #57 is that it's available in various different colors! Even had I gone with basic black and no color, 5 gallons would have cost $365.00 I think I'll save myself probably close to $350.00 and run down to the local Lowes and get the Blackjack #57 http://www.lowes.com/pd_70989-29-6080-9-30_0__?productId=3043257! Based on the testimony of @JackE and others who have followed his lead,

I think it will probably outlast the coops themselves!

I can't imagine a product intended for outside application in direct sunlight and temps from sub zero to >100, and rain/hail freezing will have ANY problems being used INSIDE away from the extreme weather, and only being subjected to some 10 pound chickens scratching at it through a deep litter system! I intend to extend it up the walls at least a foot. If it runs, so what? The idea is to seal the wood and this stuff BONDS to the wood, unlike paint! The wall coating doesn't need to be thick as it will have no traffic on it.

I don't want to do or expect to do daily, weekly or even monthly cleanings! I expect to just keep adding fresh litter and change out (a portion of) the deep litter maybe annually (or semi-annually if it seems it's needed). As it grows in depth, I want a SEAMLESS coating of protection that extends up the walls from the floor. I may even take a small amount and mix sand in with it to paint the roosts and such for traction.
Thanks all for your input and I'm awful glad I came here to save all that $$! I don't mind spending fifty bucks for this as opposed to even a free piece of linoleum...

So much easier and longer lasting, not to mention care-free!