Dirt floor over concrete, has anyone else done this?

[hayley3]

I don't know if this would be helpful, But we have 2 barn stalls (Used to be for horses, now we use it for chickens ) and we have one with shavings, and one with hay on the bottom of the concreate. I would like to know what would happen with dirt, I would predict that your chickens would spill water and It would get muddy, but if possible tell me how this works out!

I did find out that concrete is porous and you can even grow grass over concrete...outside...and it will cause the concrete to degrade. How long that takes is unknown. But doing the same thing inside would not be feasible, esp because of mold.
You can also harden dirt with the addition of lime and sand. Do I want to do that, I am not sure. Should I tamp the dirt? I want the girls to be able to make a dust bath area.
Whether a spill would make it muddy, I am not sure. Hard to believe no one else has tried this.
Most people want to convert dirt to concrete. But I loved my dirt floors and so did my chickens.

 

[3KillerBs]

You can also harden dirt with the addition of lime and sand. Do I want to do that, I am not sure. Should I tamp the dirt? I want the girls to be able to make a dust bath area.

Tamping would be pointless. The chickens will dig and scratch -- they're amazing earth-movers.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

I did find out that concrete is porous and you can even grow grass over concrete...outside...and it will cause the concrete to degrade. How long that takes is unknown. But doing the same thing inside would not be feasible, esp because of mold.
You can also harden dirt with the addition of lime and sand. Do I want to do that, I am not sure. Should I tamp the dirt? I want the girls to be able to make a dust bath area.
Whether a spill would make it muddy, I am not sure. Hard to believe no one else has tried this.
Most people want to convert dirt to concrete. But I loved my dirt floors and so did my chickens.

Because concrete is porous water can seep through. To the naked eye it might be unnoticeable until it causes damage to structures by not using treated wood. If you're set on a dirt floor you can install linoleum on the concrete. It should prevent any moisture if prepared right. Heres a page about how to prepare the concrete for linoleum:
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/concrete-floor-ready-linoleum-25557.html
We have concrete floors in our basement and pole barn but not in the coop. We put throw away carpet over it to keep the floor from being so cold. Probably not the best idea for chickens since they scratch and you dont want them eating the fibers. Our coop has a linoleum floor and it works great. Its super easy to clean. We use pine shavings in the coop but ground dirt and straw in the run. Hope this helps

 

[hayley3]

Because concrete is porous water can seep through. To the naked eye it might be unnoticeable until it causes damage to structures by not using treated wood. If you're set on a dirt floor you can install linoleum on the concrete. It should prevent any moisture if prepared right. Heres a page about how to prepare the concrete for linoleum:
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/concrete-floor-ready-linoleum-25557.html
We have concrete floors in our basement and pole barn but not in the coop. We put throw away carpet over it to keep the floor from being so cold. Probably not the best idea for chickens since they scratch and you dont want them eating the fibers. Our coop has a linoleum floor and it works great. Its super easy to clean. We use pine shavings in the coop but ground dirt and straw in the run. Hope this helps

What I meant was, if concrete is porous, then any spills, would seep through the dirt and the concrete. The only water would be a water spill. I was actually thinking of misting the dirt occasionally to keep down the dust.
Also a lot of this depends on if I am able to get fill dirt instead of top soil.

 

[aart]

I use flaked pine shavings.

I find the large flake shavings don't break down as fast as the smaller ones.
But still can't avoid that pulverized poop, even with a poop board I get a proportion of 'dust' the longer I go between shavings changes the mote dust there is.

What I meant was, if concrete is porous, then any spills, would seep through the dirt and the concrete

Well, the water won't necessarily go thru the concrete, like back into the ground under it, but it will hold it.

I think dirt will be dustier(faster) than shavings.
All you can do is try it.

 

[chickengr]

I have just put top soil in 2 of my coops. they are raised from the ground (made of pallets) with a plastic bottom. I am already happier with it than with pine shaving. I put some limestone first, some shavings and intend to add some wood ash as well. wood ash helps with spilled water. these coops are not smelly as the one with pine shavings on concrete. I plan to put top soil (from my garden) to the concrete floor coop as soon as possible.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

I find the large flake shavings don't break down as fast as the smaller ones.
But still can't avoid that pulverized poop, even with a poop board I get a proportion of 'dust' the longer I go between shavings changes the mote dust there is.

Well, the water won't necessarily go thru the concrete, like back into the ground under it, but it will hold it.

I think dirt will be dustier(faster) than shavings.
All you can do is try it.

Concrete works kinda like a sponge expect you cant wring it out.

 

[hayley3]

I have just put top soil in 2 of my coops. they are raised from the ground (made of pallets) with a plastic bottom. I am already happier with it than with pine shaving. I put some limestone first, some shavings and intend to add some wood ash as well. wood ash helps with spilled water. these coops are not smelly as the one with pine shavings on concrete. I plan to put top soil (from my garden) to the concrete floor coop as soon as possible.

I was reading about the limestone and then read it can burn their feet, so you put it down before the dirt? There are a few types of limestone...hydrated and barnlime, which did you use?

 

[chickengr]

I was reading about the limestone and then read it can burn their feet, so you put it down before the dirt? There are a few types of limestone...hydrated and barnlime, which did you use?

I don't know. it is a powder that people use in agriculture or for building. I have never had any issues with that. my chickens walk over it and never got burnt. some even peck it.

 

[Gargoyle]

Maybe cover the concrete with rubber stall mats, then put the dirt over that. It will keep some of the moisture from the concrete from entering the dirt, and if they scratch all the way through, the stall mats won't hurt their feet the way concrete does.