Floor or No Floor?

[Calibirds]

We are a newbie chicken family. We have 3, three week old chicks and are starting to get the coop built. Do you recommend putting in a floor throughout the entire length of the run? I have read different opinions online and now I am totally confused. We are thinking we might build a raised wooded floor then cover with linoleum then cover with sand and then shavings. We live in Southern California and do not get much rain but we do live in the foothills and get predators like coyotes and raccoons, coyotes have never been in our backyard they just look through the fence but the raccoons are regulars. So, we thought the flooring would be an extra barrier for predators plus it wouldn't get muddy since the area where the coop will be in is just dirt ground. Any suggestions and thoughts?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Runs being as large as you can make them are inexpensively protected from predators digging with a welded wire apron. I use 2x4 14 guage welded wire for the entire run and cut the 4 foot roll in half to make the apron. If your 18 to 24 inches from under the run wall out horizontally predators can't dig in. They dig, hit the wire and move to side to try again along the run wall. You can stake the apron and let grass grow through it to mow or you can lift the sod and lay the wire down then replace sod. Dig proof run made easy.

Depending on your coop size many like myself like the raised coops. With small coops it makes for better utility of space. Feed can be hung under the coop to keep it out of elements. Also by raising the coop your adding to run space. Most don't have covered runs so the raised coop becomes the place for cover from rain. Though the run should have a top of some sort even if it's netting to keep hawks out. Keep in mind chickens should be locked in coop at night, every night. It's when they are most vulnerable roosting. Have poor night vision making themselves easy prey after dark.

My choice for liter in the coop is pine shavings. Inexpensive ($6 a 3 cubic ft bale at feed store) and absorbs the waste quite well. When it's time to replace it can be composted in piles for later use in gardens.

 

[sophia31d8921]

I am burying the chicken wire for my run 1 foot underground and curling the edges 6 inches outwards in an L shape.