Hi -- new to backyardchickens and loving reading the forum!! We are currently building a coop to house the 10 chickens we have a friend holding for us in her coop. We have a solid design and are making it super-dooper-predator proof (hardware cloth buried 10"); secure latches, etc. etc I realize there are a lot of ways to build a coop -- our design calls for a dirt floor -- it is not off the ground. We are making it large enough that it doesn't make sense. Any thoughts on this? Positives? Negatives? Thank you!!!
I've had both a raised coop with a board floor covered with litter of some kind. I've also had a large coop with a dirt floor. The one with the dirt floor was easier to keep clean. I just used a rake to rake the poop in a pile and scoop it out. Really the only downfall was eventually you lowered the level of the dirt and had to add more floor of some kind (sand is good). As long as the drainage will allow the dirt to stay dry you should be fine.
I have a concrete floor, which I'm going to ask hubby to put down vinyl for easier cleaning. I use pine chips, which I think works the best. I scoop the poo with a litter box scooper. It's a personal preference as far as the coop goes and how you want to clean the inside. My run is 1/2 sand/dirt and 1/2 grass. I'm really happy with our setup. It's very easy to clean. My coop is 100% predator safe having a room built right in our garage. Our run is very secure, but I'd never let the chicks sleep out there or nor would I leave the door open.
