Dirt floor vs. raised wooden floor coop construction

[Mahlzeit]

We are in the process of designing and building a new coop for our flock of 20 birds. I see some coops that are raised off the ground with a wooden floor and some that have no other floor inside but the dirt itself and are built directly on the ground with only the four walls and the roof of course.

I will be using the deep litter method with pine shavings and would like to hear some comments and thoughts from others who have built a coop.

We live in West Virginia and the soil is mostly clay.

Any help and design ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I wouldn't go with the dirt floor myself because of rats and mice. They burrow and unless you lay hardware cloth under the dirt of your coop they could just burrow right into your coop eat your feed and leave their nasty droppings in there.

 

[shmeggs]

did you floor hold moisture from the chicken droppings

 

[JackE]

The blackjack doesn't scrape up off the floor when you shovel out the chicken droppings? I am in the process of buying a house and have been contemplating what to put on the floor of my new chicken coop.I was thinking of using the linoleum. The one I have now is just plywood not coated or anything and it has lasted me over 7 years now but it's finally starting to get soft in a couple spots.

No, it does not scrape off, and I use an old coal shovel to clean out my coop. This stuff is practically bulletproof. It was designed to protect a roof in all extremes of weather. So inside a coop under shavings, or sand(Thats what I have in the front of my coop) is nothing to it. The whole floor is sealed under a coat of rubber.

 

[1muttsfan]

My coop is also raised, the soil here is poor-draining clay and rock and would be difficult to level, and flooding could be a problem especially in the spring with snow melt or during heavy rains. Floor is covered with vinyl flooring, 4 years old with minimal wear. Deep litter with pine shavings, cleaned once yearly.

 

[Chemguy]

We built our coop raised off of the ground for two main reasons: 1) To avoid needing to level an area and to deal with water issues on the uphill side of the coop and 2) To avoid any potential problems with voles, rabbits, feral cats and groundhogs setting up shop under the coop.

We used self-adhesive tiles on the floor of the coop, and continued about 12" up the inside walls. I will be removing the tiles next spring, and will replace them with a single sheet of linoleum; the tiles get pulled up easily and trap all manner of coop debris under the lifted edges. Or, based on the helpful info in this thread, I may instead use the roofing sealer that was mentioned earlier.

 

[4 the Birds]

A raised coop floor off of the dirt ground is the way to go even if only 3 or 4 inches up. It prevents water drainage problems (high and dry!), keeps pests/predators at bay, and prevents the chickens from scratching down through the bedding to the dirt. Often huge coops have dirt floors since it can be cost prohibitive for a floor build.

 

[aceoftrumps]

I have a plywood floor off the ground on concrete pier blocks from Home Depot.....but I wish I would have gone higher. Nonetheless, I used OSB for the floor painted with porch paint, two coats on both sides. I use a roost on one side of the house and nest boxes on the other side, feed storage on the back wall. I use the deep litter method under the roost as well as the floor. I sprinkle de to keep out insects like mites. No odors but I also have good ventilation.

A little corn thrown on the floor keeps it stirred up. Trouble free. Of course, I'm lucky enough to have a friend that has a wood working shop and get cypress shavings for free!

Ace

 

[GardenFae]

I use a rubberized roof coat product from Lowes(Blackjack #57) This stuff, unlike vinyl or linoleum, becomes part of the floor, protecting it from everything. Nothing gets under it. It seals the gap where the walls meet the floor. This stuff has been down in my coop going on 4yrs, and it looks as good as the day I put in down. IMO, it is the BEST wood floor protector for a coop.

I'm planning out my coop right now and I am really interested by this stuff - is it like the rubberized truck bed liner stuff you can find in spray cans? Does it dry smooth or rough? I looked it up on Lowes' website but they really didn't have much information on it. It beats the idea of using sheet vinyl, though!

 

[JackE]

I'm planning out my coop right now and I am really interested by this stuff - is it like the rubberized truck bed liner stuff you can find in spray cans? Does it dry smooth or rough? I looked it up on Lowes' website but they really didn't have much information on it. It beats the idea of using sheet vinyl, though!

The link below, is what I used. It drys smooth. I would not trust the stuff you are talking about in the small spray cans.



http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay...gId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1

 

[Granny Hatchet]

i want to do this too. can you tell me drying time to keep chickens out and what you put it down with? how hard is it to use? and will mice chew through? what is the difference between it and the more expensive one? too many questions.sorry