Coop flooring. What do you use and why does it work?

[Daisy8s]

Cheers Daisy! What's NOT to like about the coop not smelling and being low maintenance! So I figure pine shavings on plywood is OK or should I put down an easier cleaned surface for under the pine?

You really want a dirt floor if you're going to use the DLM. Think of an active compost pile and contact with micro-organisms in the soil that will decompose matter.

DLM on plywood, or any wood, would rot it. You can do this on cement...but why bother laying down any floor at all if dirt is best?

 

[kiwiegg]

Thanks Daisy. I have already built a really nice raised 8x8 coop (base is treated lumber base on concrete footings) so dirt is not an option! I am (obviously) new to this and must be missing something here....if DLM is for dirt floors only, what is everyone else doing? I install tile for a living and could actually create a water barrier on top of my plywood subfloor using leftover materials. With that considered is DLM still an option or will I need to do something else? If so, what other options might I have? Thanks very much!

 

[KFaye]

I have a plywood floor with linoleom tiles. Love it as it sweeps out beautifully. I do the dlm and actually if I am in the mood I use a dog long handled pooper scooper and can pick up areas under the roosts quickly and easily. Not always in the mood of course so I just add more pine shavings.

about every other month maybe not even that often I sweep it all out then shovel it into a wagon and haul it off in a compost pile.

 

[dragonmorgan]

Im wondering this too. We are building our coop out of an old peanut trailer we had sittin around so it will be raised, so dirts not an option for us either, and the flooring it has right now is this metal mesh with very small holes I guess for the dirt off the peanuts to fall through. I want to cover the metal up so I dont have to worry about rust gettin to the chickens but what other flooring options are there if we cant use wood with the DLM. Is there something you could cover the floor with that would work? Or is there a better low maintenance option for raised coops?

 

[kiwiegg]

Thanks KFaye! Tile guys HATE linoleum but I guess chicken coops are a good place for it

. The nice thing about linoleum on plywood is you can just tear it up and change it if needed! I could actually use Ditra tile membrane over the plywood and then skim coat with cement too. That's me thinking of ideas whilst writing this....and it's after 11

 

[kiwiegg]

A problem with linoleum is that although the very thin surface is reasonably water resistant, right under that it's papery junk that will start to stink once wet from top layer being cut, ripped or worn. The other idea

I had was to use hardibacker (cement board used under tile), Dragonmorgan, that might be a solution for your peanut trailer. Throw some exterior rated plywood down, then hardibacker screwed to plywood.

 

[ScottM]

Hi kiwiegg,

You can totally use poop boards AND the deep litter method. I scoop mine out and the bottom just takes longer for the floor to need another layer of new shavings than I would otherwise.

Lino is a great choice it you've already built the raised coop, having the coop on dirt just allows for true decomposition to happen with microbes etc, yours will still break down but not completely,

/scott

 

[kiwiegg]

Cheers Scott. Looks like I'm on a one way train to Lino-Land......

The poop tray with DLM makes sense - you put the tray where the most poop action occurs, kinda like a "high percentage poop play" as they say in the poultry biz....

Sorry about the simplistic question but how exactly do you do the poop tray thing? You use boards, not a shallow tray? Under the roost only or where else? I guess I need a step by step walk through of the process if anyone can be bothered as I'm not really sure how this system ties together.