Dirt on coop floor?

[Beaker99]

I'm converting my tractor into a permanent position, which includes adding a floor.
I currently use deep bedding with leaves and shavings on ground. No complaints.

Since I'm adding a wood floor, I'm wondering if a layer of dirt below the fresh bedding makes sense. I see people use sand, but we're too humid here.

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

I would put linoleum down over the wood, then your bedding. The linoleum helps protect the wood and cleans more easily. You can sometimes get remnants

 

[Brooks_]

I'm converting my tractor into a permanent position, which includes adding a floor.
I currently use deep bedding with leaves and shavings on ground. No complaints.

Since I'm adding a wood floor, I'm wondering if a layer of dirt below the fresh bedding makes sense. I see people use sand, but we're too humid here.

Personally I would skip the floor and stay with deep litter. If you must use a floor, skip the dirt and use deep bedding.

 

[Matejka]

Seems like more work
Dirt floor then ADD a wood floor just to cover it with more dirt.
Forget the wood floor and stay with dirt deep litter.
IF you decide at a later date that you really want/need a floor-you can put one in

 

[Beaker99]

I have to add a floor because the ground will be very swampy soon (we get 40+ inches of rain per year). I just want to recreate my deep bedding success and wasn't sure if the soil was the key. Thanks!

 

[Isadora]

I'm converting my tractor into a permanent position, which includes adding a floor.
I currently use deep bedding with leaves and shavings on ground. No complaints.

Since I'm adding a wood floor, I'm wondering if a layer of dirt below the fresh bedding makes sense. I see people use sand, but we're too humid here.

No, dirt does not make sense. You've already said it's humid there so dirt would be no better than sand in this case.

 

[Brooks_]

I have to add a floor because the ground will be very swampy soon (we get 40+ inches of rain per year). I just want to recreate my deep bedding success and wasn't sure if the soil was the key. Thanks!

My hoop coop with deep litter and the tarp long enough to skirt the sides stays dry. A couple moist spots after the heaviest of rains. Yearly average here is 48-52" based on 1981- 2010 numbers.

 

[Jenni Hen]

I have to add a floor because the ground will be very swampy soon (we get 40+ inches of rain per year). I just want to recreate my deep bedding success and wasn't sure if the soil was the key. Thanks!

I can't move my run and I have to deal with soggy ground in winter. Our rainfall is a lot less than yours, but in winter the flat land becomes waterlogged because groundwater, that should draining to the river nearby, can't get away when the river is high e.g. the field next to the garden gets flooded by groundwater.
I wondered about installing a floor, or a partial floor but people have advised me about litter, drainage schemes, etc.
I've tried shredding old card and paper and been happy that it's made effective litter - the strips soak up the water from the soil then dry out in the air. This is using long straight strips. I rake it fluffy and smooth, then they love to dig it into craters and dustbathe. So I think that something under the litter would be appreciated by the hens.

 

[3KillerBs]

I have to add a floor because the ground will be very swampy soon (we get 40+ inches of rain per year). I just want to recreate my deep bedding success and wasn't sure if the soil was the key. Thanks!

Wood + soil + water = rotted wood in a big hurry.

If the ground the chickens are on is going to get waterlogged and swampy the best option is to move the chickens to high ground -- either by moving the setup to a different part of the yard when it's dry, by raising the level of the ground through adding fill, by using various water-management strategies such as diversion ditches and French drains to dry the ground, and/or by elevating the coop and it's floor several feet above the ground level.

I say "several feet" because a short gap between the coop floor and the ground not only encourages rot by not having enough moving air to dry it out, but also invites rodents to move in. You want to be able to access every inch of the space under a raised coop in case a chicken lays an egg under there or, worse, decides to get sick or die there.

 

[Beaker99]

Wood + soil + water = rotted wood in a big hurry.

If the ground the chickens are on is going to get waterlogged and swampy the best option is to move the chickens to high ground -- either by moving the setup to a different part of the yard when it's dry, by raising the level of the ground through adding fill, by using various water-management strategies such as diversion ditches and French drains to dry the ground, and/or by elevating the coop and it's floor several feet above the ground level.

I have them on an old gravel carport area currently, but it gets zero shade and I'm planning ahead. I rent so I can't dig any drains. Building up is a possibility.

I say "several feet" because a short gap between the coop floor and the ground not only encourages rot by not having enough moving air to dry it out, but also invites rodents to move in. You want to be able to access every inch of the space under a raised coop in case a chicken lays an egg under there or, worse, decides to get sick or die there.

I did not consider some of this. I really appreciate your input.