Coop on the ground or off the ground?

[yelim]

Above ground.

 

[taimenz]

i just recently finished a coop that dealt with all the shortcomings of my last coop. one thing that bothered me was the amount of pine shavings i had to use, the dust that was associated with them while cleaning the coop out, and trying to keep the poop for fertilizer without all the pine shavings. So I kept my new coop 18" off the ground and used hardware cloth as the flooring. the bottom of the coop is enclosed for now to keep the draft out. Last night was twenty degrees, but in the summer i plan to leave it open for air flow. Now the poop falls to the ground sometimes builds up a little but then down to the ground where it can be raked out a relocated more easily.

 

[debid]

I'm using 24" post legs because that's how tall my wheelbarrow happens to be. Park the wheelbarrow by one door, go in the opposite door, push the litter out with a scrub broom... I think it will also be handy when I need to fill food & water since I can reach straight in rather than stooping.

 

[elmo]

If I understand your original post correctly, you'll be placing your coop on an existing concrete slab, right? So nothing is going to be literally on the "ground." Concrete isn't a good surface for chickens to be kept on directly, so you'll need to use bedding for inside the coop and add a good thick layer of something like sand or gravel on top of the concrete that is to be your run.

As long as you already have the concrete for your coop foundation, why not use it? I'd go ahead and build right on the slab.

 

[mcfarmall]

I built mine up off the ground around 14" which happens to be the height of the commonly available straw bale. In the summer the birds can hang out in the shade and in the winter, I can place straw bales on the N, S, and W sides to block out the wind just like the pig huts.

 

[JackE]

Get it off the ground, Don't give the mice, or worse RATS, a nice hidden place to set up shop.
Jack

 

[Dogfish]

Off the ground. It allows you a place to put a feeder outside, but still keep it dry, plus allows for housing for other birds that don't climb like my CX in the picture, gives them a place to get out of the sun & rain, and since the dirt underneath will hopefully be drier, they can dust bathe there as well.

As also mentioned, it makes cleanout a breeze as I can sweep out the coop into my wheelbarrow.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
Love the idea of the nesting boxes made from rubbermaid storage containers. Great idea!

 

[treekatie]

KuntryGirl how hard is it to clean your coop floor made out of hardware cloth, and how do you do it?

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
It is not hard at all. What I do and what you don't see in the picture is........ I put hay on the floor/on the hardware cloth and the droppings fall on the hay. I clean it out as needed by removing the hay, throwing it out or into my compost and put new hay on the wire floor. I am able to keep the hardware cloth immaculate. Hardly ever any poop. The way that you see the hardware cloth in the pics (CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN), that is pretty much what it looks like when I remove the hay. Takes me about 10- 15 minutes. I love it !! My girls go KRAZY when I put new hay in. They all jump in and have a ball. And little hay is kicked out. There is literally no smell, of course, because I have open air coops. However, I do hose it down every now and then with a little bleach and water to continue to have good cleanliness and peace of mind for me and my girls.