Flooring ideas in a coop that was given to me.

[West Bend]

Hi, I was given a 6 by 10 foot Chicken Coop / run. The Coop portion is 6 by 4 and the Run area is the remaining 6 by 6. It has a metal roof I am currently putting half inch hardware cloth on the floor/up 3in of the wall of the coop and quarter inch hardware cloth on the outside of the entire structure as a skirt with rocks on top. I am trying to decide if I should put sand on top of the cloth and then straw or put linoleum or plywood on top of the cloth/sand and then the straw. I am using straw because that is what was given to me also. I have put heavy clear plastic on the screened-in run, leaving about 4 or 5 in open at the top. I still need to add the nesting boxes (old wine crates) and Roost bar 4 x 2. There is a 2 foot by 4 foot opening where a door should be between the coop and run but I don't have a door there maybe put a clear panel/screen for light & more ventilation. Currently there are no windows in the coop area yet. Any thoughts on the flooring would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[West Bend]

Additional information: I am not sure how wet the area will get with rain / snow as this is new for me. That is why I was thinking sand over the hardware cloth but under the additional flooring. I know it will get slightly mixed up with the straw if there's no flooring in between. I'm trying to keep the straw as dry as possible

 

[FortCluck]

Can you get pics of the coop inside and out?

 

[West Bend]

I do not have pictures right now. I guess you'll have to visualize the layers. Regardless of the size/look of the coop, the flooring options are the same: Ground, hardware cloth, sand, straw or ground, hardware cloth, sand, flooring, straw or no sand at all.

 

[Acre4Me]

HWC in contact with the ground will eventually degrade. Are you using it to deter mice/rats from chewing into the coop through the wood? If so, I would not put the HWC where it will get/stay wet. It will be difficult to replace. People often put HWC as an apron around the run to keep out somewhat larger critters (raccoons, dogs) and do use a thicker gauge material. But even if you use a small HWC for an apron, it would be easier to replace than under your coop. So, without pics, is there a way to elevate the HWC in that layering you are proposing! Dirt, wood floor, HWC, vinyl ...or instead of vinyl, you could do more wood like plywood and use BlackJack roof coating instead of vinyl flooring.

 

[West Bend]

Hopefully this isn't a permanent coop.HWC is in place already & so is the cold weather so I'm not using anything that needs painting, I just want to get the girls in there instead of the prefab they're in now. The vinyl is left over from my kitchen, which = free. Not sure why pics are so important. No matter what the coop looks like, y'all know the material & can figure out the layers.

 

[rosemarythyme]

In the interest of protecting the chickens' feet I'd put down linoleum or plywood and then bedding on top, so they can't cut themselves on the wire.

We ask for photos because some (most) of us aren't good at visualizing things and if I can't visualize I have a harder time thinking of an answer.

 

[springvalley123]

I'm considering retro-fitting my dirt-floored coop also, to keep squirrels/mice out. The area is on a slab of solid rock that a bulldozer couldn't break up, but still the rodents come... How about digging all the dirt that you readily easily can dig out, laying down a bit of gravel, then putting the hardware cloth on top of the gravel, then dirt on top of that? That'd provide drainage for the hardware cloth, and a buffer of dirt (packed) on top of the hardware cloth to protect the birds' feet. If it's only to last a few years anyway, maybe skip the hassle of the gravel, unless the area is practically a swamp?