INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[browncow15]

I don't have a dirt floor and at times I have wished that I did.  But after thinking about it, I have some pros and cons in my mind and right now, I'm glad I don't have dirt in the chicken house.  I may change my mind on that.


There are lots of pros to the deep litter on real dirt but I won't go into those.

So I'm going to play "Devil's Advocate" for not having a dirt floor.

Here are some things I've thought of for not having a dirt floor:
With wood floor:   I put a sheet vinyl on my wood floor to protect it.  Then I put in some dirt on top of the vinyl that I dig from under the deep litter in the run or garden, then wood shavings go on top of that.

1.  With sheet vinyl -It protects the wood floor; no rotting.
2.  It does well and is easy to shovel the indoor litter right out onto the run.
3.  Possibly easier to more thoroughly disinfect if there is an outbreak of a lingering disease.
4.  I always leave some of the litter to restart the next batch.  Though there isn't a fully functioning deep litter indoors, it is "started" from the dirt and some of the prior accumulation and I get a great DL outside in the run.
5.  My birds still get the advantage of the deep litter in the outdoor run and the beginnings indoors.

With cement floor: 
No vinyl needed to avoid rot.  Can hose out the floor if a deep cleaning is needed.  No fear of digging predators.


Disadvantages I see to the dirt floor (remember there are a lot of advantages!)

1.  Motivated predators can more easily dig under it and get into the coop... including an easier entrance for rats and mice.  (Can be deterred by putting down hardware cloth but determined predators can get through if they work at it by chewing, etc.)



ETA:  There is also the issue of the frame of the building rotting at floor level if it's on the dirt.  Of course, you could put a block or cement area around the perimeter for the base of the shed to sit on.

My current shed floor is rotting from underneath. We put a new layer of osb down when we renovated it but it's feeling soft in spots already.



My worry if I turn it to dirt is the DL will always be wet and soggy.

Don't ask me what dum dum built the barn and shed at the lowest point in the property!

 

[ChickCrazed]

Hi All! Since we have been posting about processing quite a bit, I found a processor near the north side for those interested in paying someone to process.

https://www.thisoldfarm.com/

Located in Colfax, Indiana near I-65. I emailed them about prices and they said poultry its $4.00 a bird. When you bring your flock in, It's a $15 inspection fee $5 inedible fee, plus your cost for each bird. Also you can bring in as little or as many as you like. They specifically mentioned processing quickly and humanely, which I like. It is a good option for me and my extra roos that don't find homes, I could never handle processing myself!

It wouldn't be worth the inspection fee if you only had a few birds, but is a good option if you have more.

Just thought I would share!

 

[SilverWolff]

Anyone in central Indiana have Australorps for sale? I'd prefer to get blues but wouldn't mind getting black either, I'm looking to add 4 more pullets to my lil flock so I thought I'd post to see if anyone has any or knows of any for sale?

 

[Bawk]

Our chicken house has an elevated concrete floor, we love it, put pine shavings over it. Before that it was dirt and we had a major headache controlling mice. It's easy to clean. We put it over the compost pile. We also have roosts on the corner with poop boards under it and thick vinyl on the walks to keep wals clean.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I wonder if you could jack it up before you replace the floor and set it on concrete blocks around it's edges? It may not be stable enough to do that without it's floor but..

When we put out shed down we put it on blocks underneith so it's raised up from the ground. I didn't want the birds getting under it so we put a hardware cloth covered frame all around the bottom to skirt it. That has kept it from being directly on the ground and rotting from the bottom.

Of course if you want to go to a lot of ado, you could pour a cement pad for it to sit on top of which a lot of folks do.


You can see how it's raised up off the ground in these phogos and the frame under there. The frame not only keeps them from getting under but also keeps other critters from hiding under there too.

 

[browncow15]

I wonder if you could jack it up before you replace the floor and set it on concrete blocks around it's edges? It may not be stable enough to do that without it's floor but.. When we put out shed down we put it on blocks underneith so it's raised up from the ground. I didn't want the birds getting under it so we put a hardware cloth covered frame all around the bottom to skirt it. That has kept it from being directly on the ground and rotting from the bottom. Of course if you want to go to a lot of ado, you could pour a cement pad for it to sit on top of which a lot of folks do. You can see how it's raised up off the ground in these phogos and the frame under there. The frame not only keeps them from getting under but also keeps other critters from hiding under there too.

I think I've said this before but I SO wish I'd seen your coop before we did ours! We did jack the front of the coop up reciently just to try to help the flooding situation. I may try to do the rest of it in stages. I already have to replace the bottom of the run, rookie mistake using chicken wire!

 

[funnyfarmmom]

Hi everyone! I just happened to find this thread, been posting in other areas for a bit now. I live down in Lawrence County, between Bedford and Mitchell.

I currently have: 5 black sex link hens, 3 white leg horn hens, 1 buff orpington roo in my main coop/run. In my smaller grow-out pen I have 7 barred rock and 5 buff orpington chicks about 4 weeks old. No idea on sexes yet lol. Hoping for lots of pullets. Then in another under- construction pen I have 28 cornish x that look about 2 weeks old. (Rural King in bloomington had a killer sale on them so I grabbed them all lol).

We live out in the county but its a tiny little subdivision. We only have 1/2 acre. Our county has absolutely no zoning and theres no HOA in this neighborhood, but I have very uppity neighbors. The people to the right of me have gone to the county council meetings twice complaining about us and pushing for zoning. They say I should not have chickens because they will eventually stink. Oh, and I have a good size garden. According to them I should not be allowed to garden because of run-off.

Anyway Im looking to get Turkeys after my meaties are done . Hope you all enjoyed the non-rainy day today!

 

[iamfivewire]

welcome FFM

 

[iamfivewire]

one of our coops has neither a wood, dirt, or cement floor - we used one of those plastic resin sheds .
i cut some windows for it & a popdoor
also built some coops in our polebarn - technically they do have a cement floor, but i put tarps down

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:
Its doing well, but its high enough ground that it doesn't get saturated. I buried hardware cloth before we set the shed to prevent critters and a layer of chain link also.. The only reason I will cut the floor out is the concern of nails. After getting one in my foot last month (actually a screw) and still struggling with it not risking it again.

Quote:
I don't have a dirt floor and at times I have wished that I did. But after thinking about it, I have some pros and cons in my mind and right now, I'm glad I don't have dirt in the chicken house. I may change my mind on that.


There are lots of pros to the deep litter on real dirt but I won't go into those.

So I'm going to play "Devil's Advocate" for not having a dirt floor.

Here are some things I've thought of for not having a dirt floor:
With wood floor: I put a sheet vinyl on my wood floor to protect it. Then I put in some dirt on top of the vinyl that I dig from under the deep litter in the run or garden, then wood shavings go on top of that.

1. With sheet vinyl -It protects the wood floor; no rotting.
2. It does well and is easy to shovel the indoor litter right out onto the run.
3. Possibly easier to more thoroughly disinfect if there is an outbreak of a lingering disease.
4. I always leave some of the litter to restart the next batch. Though there isn't a fully functioning deep litter indoors, it is "started" from the dirt and some of the prior accumulation and I get a great DL outside in the run.
5. My birds still get the advantage of the deep litter in the outdoor run and the beginnings indoors.

With cement floor:
No vinyl needed to avoid rot. Can hose out the floor if a deep cleaning is needed. No fear of digging predators.


Disadvantages I see to the dirt floor (remember there are a lot of advantages!)

1. Motivated predators can more easily dig under it and get into the coop... including an easier entrance for rats and mice. (Can be deterred by putting down hardware cloth but determined predators can get through if they work at it by chewing, etc.)



ETA: There is also the issue of the frame of the building rotting at floor level if it's on the dirt. Of course, you could put a block or cement area around the perimeter for the base of the shed to sit on.
All good points! We put galvanized hardware cloth down and in a trench around the perimeter, and a full layer of chain link on top of it. I know it will eventually decay. Its been much more beneficial than the other types of floors. Larger aggressive birds like turkeys will tear out linoleum, chickens would be fine. The concrete, honestly was great until the roof failed! Once deep litter is saturated its a nightmare. What made it worse is straw, turned the whole thing into massive heavy clumps. Ugh. DH plans to rebuild and design so the tractor bucket will fit into the building in case that would ever happen again.