Metal sheeting on bottom of elevated coop?

[Chick farm]

I had someone tell me that I need to put metal sheeting or something like that on the bottom of my coop to prevent animals from gnawing through the wood to get to the chickens.

My coop is a converted tractor shed. We are putting in a floor about a foot to 16 inches off the ground, to give us as much inside height as possible, while still having it be far enough off the ground to discourage nest building by rats/mice underneath. The chickens do NOT have access to the underneath.

Thoughts? We have not put the floor down yet, but my husband said tonight, he really doesn't want to do anything like this. Help!

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

Our coop has a plywood floor with a lynolium-ish layer inside. We have the occasional fox and house pets as the primary worry.

Unless there is something specific you are worrying about I might just go with one extra layer of plywood. If they can go through the floor then they can go through the walls too. Bears, cougars, etc. will tear the wood down, never mind if its the floor or a wall.

 

[chfite]

A single layer of wood for the floor should suffice. If any animal can force its way into the run, the walls are likely going first, not the floor.

A large, apex predator such as a bear could tear right through your house door as well.

Chris