elevated vs. ground coops

[Junior]

i'm running some coop ideas through my mind and was wondering about the pros and cons of each style.i know there are several books on the subject of coops does anyone have any recommendations?i'm looking to build a pretty big coop around 16X36 or so.that size sould hold between 150-200 right?
any help would be appreciated.
Junior

 

[fasbendera]

It is a little hard to see but my coop is elevated off the ground on posts. The one side is only a few inches off and the far end is probably two feet. It provides a nice spot for shade, dust baths and a way to stay dry outside on a rainy day if they decide to stay outside and not go into the coop. I do have a long pole I use to coax out the young ones until they get used to going into the coop at night. I do use a deeper liter in the winter because of our cold climate and the cold air under the coop but no probroblems really.

 

[chookchick]

One of the reasons I built an elevated coop is because the area where I live is very rainy, and the soil often holds a lot of moisture. This moisture rising up would make it much more difficult to keep the coop dry enough. This may or may not apply to where you live. Another good thing about not having a dirt floor, is that it makes it much easier to keep predators, and rats, and mice out. But if you want to have a true "deep litter", it works best with a dirt floor. What do other people in your area have?

 

[fasbendera]

Quote:
I'm not sure if the deep litter question was for me or not but I will respond. I don't have a dirt floor but this year I spread barn lime over the entire floor and then I spread pine shavings (my bedding of choice) about 1 to 1&1/2 feet deep. I did this at Thanksgiving and I am just now starting to get a little odor so I am going to clean under the roosts the rest the coop is relatively clean. This is the first time I have put that much bedding down and it is working great for me. It probably doesn't qualify as deep litter method but I am calling it that. This summer I am putting in dropping boards. Since we will have snow until mid march the girls are all stuck inside but do venture out on the steps when I open the door on days it gets in the 30's.

The picture below is the roost/nest end of my coop before I set it up for winter. This end of the coop is also the end that is raised up since it is located on a slight hill (we live on a bluff so our whole yard is a slow incline). I will be redoing the roosts so they are higher than the nest box and installing dropping boards. Just like my house I am always rearranging things but I am close to having it perfect. I currently have 20 hens. In th summer I raise between 150-200 meat birds.

 

[chickeydee]

fasbendera, Hi I love your coop can you tell me the size of it and height . Very nice. thanks

 

[wildorchid053]

we went a little over 2' off the ground.. we don't have trees in the area and it was for shade.. we also get snow and i didn't want the dirt to get wet. the grass has died off under it and now it is their dust bath area.. they are always under it and it is high enough we can see if someone is still under when we close up for the night. we also leaned long boards along the open part to keep the snow from going under the coop so they can still get out if they want

 

[Junior]

fasbendera & wildorchid053,nice coops - y'all did a great job on them

chookchick, most people around here build on the ground.

right now i'm leaning to building on the ground but,i may make a dirt pad to keep the coop higher than the surrounding ground.that seems to work for commercial poultry houses.
i guess i need to do a search on "deep litter" and see what is going on with that.i'm assuming it is when you leave the litter there and clean to the ground once a year or so - right?

i want to thank everyone for all the help.i really appreciate it.all advice is welcome and appreciated.
thanks,
Junior

 

[thndrdancr]

Remember if you go on the ground, to put hardware cloth or some around the ground of the coop itself to keep predators AND digging animals out, just like you would do with your pens. I didnt do this and am paying for it this winter.

I made my PEN pretty much predator proof, but digging animals have tunneled 12 to 15 feet UNDER my coop into the pen to get to the chicken feed, thus leaving it open to predator animals.

I got rid of a groundhog that tunneled under one coop, now I am dealing with possums in my pen that have tunneled into my pen from under my playhouse coop. So far they havent hurt my birds, but I am keeping them well fed, cant find their hidey hole entrance and dont want to kill them only to have the weasel or badger that live up the drive to move in.

 

[kcfuerst]

Here is another dimension to your inquiry. My coop is built on the ground, on concrete. I use the DLM with 6-8" of wood shavings. They actually compost very well over the long-haul. I have not changed my litter since June. I have a big roost with a box underneath which I call the "Poo Park" I clean that regularly, toss in some stuff from the floor and put down about a 5 gallon bucket-full of new chips on the floor. Maybe you could call it re-cycling, I dunno. But it sure works. My run is covered so there is always protection from sun and rain alike. The coop is 8'x8'x8'

 

[catdaddy66]

I am building my tractor low so it's center of gravity will make it difficult to tip over while towing it around the property.

I have decent drainage and most groundwater runs away from the area they will have.