Dust bath.

[OHchickens87]

If I build a 4x4 coop and elevate it 2 feet off the ground will that be high enough to build a large dust bath area under it for the chickens? Like a big sandbox for them?

 

[Lisa G.]

it depends how high the sides of box are going to be. If you have 2 feet clearance and make the dust bath 4 or 6 inches high you should be good.

 

[OHchickens87]

it depends how high the sides of box are going to be. If you have 2 feet clearance and make the dust bath 4 or 6 inches high you should be good.

Thate what I was thinking about 4 or 6 inches.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Keep in mind you'll need to clean the dust bath if they decide to just lounge and poop under there all day.

 

[munchkinlover]

I don't know about others experiences, but my birds love to scratch the contents out of the box, no matter how big it is. I'm thinking about making 12" deep instead of 6" and filling it 4" deep.

 

[kerbotx]

If I build a 4x4 coop and elevate it 2 feet off the ground will that be high enough to build a large dust bath area under it for the chickens? Like a big sandbox for them?

That's about how much space mine have under their old coop - it has a slightly slanted floor, so there's about 20" of clearance at the front, rising to 24" at the back. A couple of 1x4s act as retaining walls along the back & sides - but there is no "bottom", they just dig down into the natural dirt. I've scraped it out so much lately due to their molting, it's about time for a refill!