Dirt floor with deep litter - in a wet climate??

[SkyBlueJar]

I was just reading The Small-Scale Poultry Flock by Harvey Ussery. He lives in the midwest, I think, and has been using earthen floors with deep litter in his henhouses for 30 years, with good results. However, he mentions that the litter needs to be kept slightly moist but NOT WET, because too much wetness promotes the growth of pathogens instead of healthful composting.

Well, I'm in the Pacific Northwest and we get 9 months of nonstop rain. My chicken run does not have a roof and the run just turns to deep mud (we're on a heavy clay soil). In the past I've used a chicken coop with a raised, wooden floor.

But we need to build a bigger chicken house pretty soon (got new chicks in the brooder) and I'm interested in the dirt floor with 12" of straw method (with a roof over the coop, of course!). Can anyone tell me whether this works in a wet climate? Or would too much moisture wick up from the earth floor, since the surrounding ground is perma-saturated?

Thanks!

 

[furbabymum]

I think you'd have to make sure your coop wasn't flooding. The run could be sand. I know a lot of people love sand. The coop floor just needs to be protected. It'll be moist just from being earth. No standing puddles is my thing. Also the chickens may prefer to lay in the dirt than the nest boxes. I've a dirt floor and they search out and dig holes to lay in. It makes the eggs a lot less clean. Anyway, I am in the west with a dirt floor and hay as my deep litter. I've not had any real problems and I have scooped some up to look and it seems to be composting on the bottom. Also the chickens love scratching in it so I like it myself.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

As long as the coop floor is a little higher than surrounding areas, water will drain away
I wouldn't use Straw as bedding though.
It's not absorbant, and much harder to clean up than wood shavings

 

[3KillerBs]

OK, I don't even have my chickens yet, but I can tell you that proper grading around any structure is the key to solving moisture problems.

The ground should slope away from your run in every direction. This usually entails creating a swale on the uphill side and/or mounding up the soil under the structure.

In heavy, clay soil a gravel-filled ditch can be used to divert water running down from a hillside and lead it to a place where it can disperse naturally. This might be a gravel-filled pit.

 

[arcatamarcia]

I'm also in the PNW. I think the straw would wick up water and then mildew. Mold wouldn't be good for your chickens. Personally, I'd do a coop with a wood floor if you want to do deep litter and then sand over gravel in your run.

 

[davidwjacob]

I'm also in the PNW. I think the straw would wick up water and then mildew. Mold wouldn't be good for your chickens. Personally, I'd do a coop with a wood floor if you want to do deep litter and then sand over gravel in your run.

This may sound like a silly question, but what kind of wood? and do you paint the wood? pressure treated wood?

i need to build a coop for my new flock and im not sure what to do about the floor.

thanks
Dave

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote: If it's low to the ground, use treated
If raised, you can get by with plain wood, but treated is still best for the floor

Definitely paint untreated wood