Need help settling run flooring argument btwn me and hubby!

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

We're building an attached run to our warm-weather coop right now. Hubby is outside drilling as I type. (We've been using a portable hoop run for the chickens up until now, but we're finally doing the attached run. Once the attached run is done, we will still put them in the hoop run for a few hours a day so they can have some quasi-free range chicken action).

Some facts:

We want to be able to leave the pop door OPEN so the chickens have access to their run 24/7.

We live in FL so it's hot and very very wet. We do have flooding issues.


The argument:

I say to dig down the wire around the edges of the run about 12 inches deep so predators can't burrow under. I say to leave the grass on the floor of the run (since it'll be in our backyard, which is grassy). When it eventually gets a bit gross and stinky, we'll hose it off and if we need to buy play sand to lay on the floor of the run.

He says we should NOT dig down the wire, but should instead lay hardware cloth on the floor so the run has a wire floor. He then wants to put in about 6 inches of leftover soil/dirt we have from a drainage project on top of the wire so the chickens have a dirt floor. The run will have a wooden bottom-border thing to hold in the dirt.


Anyone up for giving me their opinion on which is better?

Time is of the essence since he's out there in 95+ degree heat and 98% humidity sweating and swearing at the thing right now.

 

[Marlinchaser]

If you want to preditor proof it you should do the digging, but I would not do the wire floor.

OH and to the hosing off the grass

If they are confined to that space it will soon be a dirt floor and there will be no hosing off the grass.

If you have extra sand/ dirt adding it to the run would elevate the run some and should reduce the amount of flooding.

 

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

I'm with you on NOT doing the wire floor, but I want to know why digging wire down is better than making a wire floor with small gauge hardwire cloth?

Is one method really safer than the other?

Hubby is convinced that a wire floor is safer.


I'm happy to let hubby win the argument, but I need some proof!

 

[EweSheep]

Are you planning on moving the coop? If so wire floor would be better. Good if you have problems with standing water for a good while after it rains.

If the coop is permanent, then dig the wire downward.

If the floor is to be bare, then sand would be the best idea.

 

[joebryant]

No, no, no! Don't force me to vote against the wisdom of a husband. How can I say this and still make his case look right and yours wrong. CAN'T! So I ain'ta gonna say nothing.

BTW, put construction grade sand with large and small grains in your run, not play sand. That way, you'll never have to buy grit for them.

 

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

You guys have gotta help me out though...

So when I go outside and say that digging in the wire is better than a wire floor, he's going to say WHY?

I don't have an answer for him...

Why is digging in the wire along the sides BETTER than making a wire floor (with sand on top)?

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
Take a ball bat out there with you. I've a feeling you're going to need it.

BTW, if you have almost a foot of sand, there's no reason why the floor's base can't be hardware cloth. The chickens won't be digging down that deep in the sand, and no predator will be digging up through it.
WHEW! I knew that I could prove the husband's being correct.

 

[chookchick]

If you put down wire--they WILL eventually dig to it, and it will be hard on their feet. Also do you really want predators to get up underneath them? Vote for digging down perimeter, or putting a 2' apron around the outside. Put timbers or 2 by around the run and build it up with sand or mulch. The grass will last about 3 days.

 

[EweSheep]

If it was my hubby that said that, it is because it takes more work to dig the wires down, than the wires on the floor.

Either he would listen to my wishes or no favorite dinner of his will be served!

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

While I am in Alabama now, I spent 30-40 years in Florida before coming here. I had chickens for all that time. Ours was a farm as opposed to a back yard, and I doubt we would have had any chickens after the first year IF we left the door open 24-7. In the city you have roaming cats, dogs, coons, and rats to contend with.

We had sand runs that we raked and limed daily to control odor and flies. We used builders sand and added to it monthly to make up for what got raked away. The sand was about 10-12" deep.

To build our runs, we dug a perimeter down to the depth of 2 concrete blocks, set blocks 4 high, and backfilled with sand. We built in pvc pipes through this wall to allow for drainage and covered the exposed ends with wire. We raised the coops off the ground, again using block, so that when things did flood (and boy did they flood during/after hurricanes!) the chickens stayed dry. I did try some chicken wire under the first run but it quickly rusted away, so I didn't bother on the rest.

We built our coops of hardware cloth on 3 sides and wood on the 4th BUT we also had wood panels that screwed over the wire for cold/wet weather. We used hardware cloth for the floors too. Plus we bought reed fencing and laid it on top of the wire tops of the runs for additional shade. They were built under a row of oaks, so the combo made for decent shade even in the heat.

Dirt--real, actual dirt--would probably become a muddy mess in the rainy season. Sand, on the other hand, drains well.

HTH

Rusty