coop flooring

[Alyssabham]

hello! We would like some opinions on what to do with this part of our coop — The floor is wood and we are having trouble deciding how to keep it clean! That part isn’t covered so this summer rain is making it difficult too. Thanks in advance!

 

[Farmgirl1878]

Search this site for “sand,” it’s definitely the way to go!

 

[black_cat]

hello! We would like some opinions on what to do with this part of our coop — The floor is wood and we are having trouble deciding how to keep it clean! That part isn’t covered so this summer rain is making it difficult too. Thanks in advance!

that part of the coop is called the run. Lots of people use mulch or sand to cover it. If roofing is a problem, you could probably put some sheets of plywood on top.

 

[Amoore117]

that part of the coop is called the run. Lots of people use mulch or sand to cover it. If roofing is a problem, you could probably put some sheets of plywood on top.

Aluminum roof sheets may work too, and they last forever no rot.

 

[DobieLover]

hello! We would like some opinions on what to do with this part of our coop — The floor is wood and we are having trouble deciding how to keep it clean! That part isn’t covered so this summer rain is making it difficult too. Thanks in advance!

I'd cut out the wood and have an earthen floor for the run. Cover it in a thick layer of wood chips.
The wood floor is going to rot quickly without being fully protected from moisture.

 

[VioletRed]

My preference is to have all dirt floors. It's easier to keep the smell down and you end up with great compost for the garden.

 

[Alyssabham]

I'd cut out the wood and have an earthen floor for the run. Cover it in a thick layer of wood chips.
The wood floor is going to rot quickly without being fully protected from moisture.

It would be hard to cut it out, since we have to level the coop with the wood and pavers. Any other ideas?

 

[aart]

It would be hard to cut it out, since we have to level the coop with the wood and pavers. Any other ideas?

You could just cut out the inner part of floor with a sawzall, leaving the foundation intact.

If you want to keep the floor there might be best to add a roof with large overhangs to keep it form rotting.

 

[loohoo]

So, we have a run with a floor as well! I actually posted about it a while ago and apparently this is pretty uncommon! Lol So I'm actually excited to see someone else did this as well! The area of the yard we wanted to put the coop/run has drainage issues that aren't easily corrected, so we thought a floor would bypass that issue.

Ours has a wood floor, then we covered with rubber, and sealed it to protect the wood. We added in drains as well. We do have a roof over ours so it is more protected from the elements.
We have then done the deep litter method and it is working fabulously! Dirt from our compost pile/leaves/pine needles/mulched wood/all sorts of good stuff. We weren't sure how it would work since it wasn't completely on the ground but its working amazingly so far - absolutely no smell! And eventually we can shovel it out for compost for the garden Im planning to have next year.