Dirt Floor or raised wood floor in chicken coop???

[Sommerbys]

I am about to build a chicken coop and wanted to know which is best. Half people I have asked say dirt floor and other half say raised wood floor? I live 30 miles west of Myrtle Beach, S.C. out in the country. Does anyone have any information or suggestions e-mail address is [email protected]

 

[coffeemama]

I pm'd the mods to move this to the correct forum-you should get more answers there

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

from TN. Dirts floors are easier for predators to dig in, than wood floors. But My coops have dirt floors, and Ive had no problem. I dont think either way is best, it just depends on your situation.

 

[FarmerDenise]

We have a dirt floor. It is usually pretty dry here, so we don't have to worry about things getting too damp or mold ar anything like that. So far this year we haven't even had a decent rain storm. For bedding we use dried leaves, weeds pulled from the garden and sometimes wood shavings or hay. When this gets too nasty for our liking we just rake it out, once a month or so. Our big problem is rats and we are considering putting in a concrete floor since wood is useless against rats.

 

[Chirpy]

If you can put in a wood floor I think you should. Place linoleum over the wood and it's a breeze to clean it out. There are very few predators that can get into an enclosed wood coop.

If you can't do the wood then make sure you bury hardware cloth at least 18" down into the ground and attach it to the sides of the building. Having predators dig under and into a dirt floor is the biggest problem with dirt floors. I have friends who lost several of their chicks because they didn't believe anything would get into their barn and then dig through the dirt floor into their coop.

Keeping the floor dry is another potential issue with dirt. Make sure water doesn't pool or run into the coop from rain or snow.

 

[themoorethemerrier]

Where we live, right at the bottom of a hill with exceptional gravel veins (agh!) except for one month out of the year, we have pretty wet or flooded ground, so we have a raised wood floor. The water runs right under the house during our heavy rains. We've had flooding for a few days in a row a couple times last summer, so it's nice to have a wooden floor, because I can toss down some grains to keep the chickens busy turning their own bedding! But, even here, we could probably do a dirt floor if we could move our coop to a drier area.

Like a few already said, it depends on your situation. Just consider how much precipitation you get every season.

Have fun!

 

[crzychicken]

to BYC I like wood.. I also live in massachusetts .

 

[Kung Foo Chicken]

Having gone through that area a lot to the beach I would say build it off the ground with wood because the land in that area is completely flat and some areas even looks swampy. It doesn't matter here because the ground is hilly and drains off quickly usually.

Welcome

 

[Mahonri]

Wood floor w/ linoleum.

Using DE and pine shavings makes weekly clean up a breeze!

 

[moduckman]

I prefer dirt floors with bedding. The birds can dig in the dirt and keep their nails short.