Need help with a raised floor

[BayonettaK]

Hi all, I am a chicken newbie from Colorado, and am wanting some input on building a raised floor. I am using an existing little plywood shed thing we've had on our property since we moved here (it housed an old toilet the previous owners left behind), it's small about 4 ft by 3 ft and 3.5 ft tall, has a latching entry door and 2 small screened windows, as well as a hinged roof. I am planning on building it about a foot taller using plywood to allow more height for deep litter as well as building external nest boxes. My question, since this will be a project done mainly by me with a little help from the hubby, is how to teach myself how to build the floor as well as how much support it will need. I will be using 4x4's cemented into the ground, as we get lots of wind out where I live, and I do know how to do that as well as the outer frame of the floor. would researching decking work, or are there good easy to follow resources here? any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks
~Kim

 

[mljohnson05]

First of all i want to say HI and

Pictures would be great, that way everyone can give you a better idea and it helps us see what you are working with

May I ask how many chicks will need to be housed in there?
And may I also suggest SAND SAND SAND !!!

It is up to you on what method you want (deep litter, and what not) but to be honest I went to SAND and will NEVER go back to deep litter again.
All you have to do is go get a scoop loaded into the back of a truck, (and i got fine grain sand) then dump it into the coop and the RUN !
After that, get a kitty litter scooper and once a week I go out, use a rake to find the "clumps" the scoop and toss....never really have to ever change the sand...never had issues with bugs and never really have issues with smell either..... It is SUPER EASY to care for ......GO WITH SAND !!!

 

[BayonettaK]

We are thinking 3 or 4 at the most and I would love to show pics, but not sure if I have met the post requirement yet

I will look into sand for the coop as well, not dead set on what route I'm going to take yet- want to get the coop done first to make sure I can do it lol.

edit: the main reason I was leaning toward deep litter is due to the insulating factors. I live in Colorado, where just 2 weeks ago we had snow, and my coop currently does not have insulation in it. I have read that sand is cool, and thus I would have to invest more money into getting my coop weather ready. I love the easy part of it, but I don't know what I would have to do to keep my hens warm once colder weather would hit.

 

[patandchickens]

This is just a 3x4 reach-in coop?

You don't really need any support for the floor other than to use 3/4" plywood. Alternatively if you want to use 1/2" plywood, if it were me I'd run a 2x4 down the centerline as a little additional support, but I was kind of raised to build things so they STAY built no matter what, and if you omitted that extra 2x4 I kind of don't think you'd have any real problem either

Therefore, I think your answer is: you don't need ANY support for the floor other than, obviously, it needs to be sitting on 2x4 "beams" all 'round the edges, that are attached to your posts.

A word about this deep litter thing -- please do not expect to be doing COMPOSTING (heat-generating) deep litter in a tiny reach-in coop. It is unlikely you could get it going at all, but if you somehow did, the only way to get useful heat retention woudl be to underventilate the coop so severely you'd have MAJOR humidity->frostbite and ammonia issues. (Because of the am't of humidity and ammonia generated by composting bedding, and the tiny air volume of that type coop). It is perfectly fine, and IMO often a real good idea, to use deep DRY bedding. Just don't be expecting to keep it damp and composting actively.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[jamband]

HI......I think your 2 main questions are setting the posts and a frame to set the existing coop on???

assuming thats right.

You will want to use something rot resistant as the posts....either pressure treated or something like locust or white oak if you have a local sawmill.

Dig the holes so you can sit the posts below the frost line and dig the bottom of the hole wider than the top (think bell bottom)

You can stake out string prior to setting the posts so your post will be square . Let them sit 48 hours. attach 2x4 around the outside of posts. Then attach the coop

 

[BayonettaK]

thank you everyone, I definetly don't want to underventilate, and cause more problems!