new coop with a dirt floor? opinions?

[Firemenlovechicks]

Alright, So I have figured out that I can't use my old smokehouse as a chicken coop because it's very close to my well and could contaminate it under the right circumstances.

Sssooooooooo....... I am looking at building a nice new coop at the back of our lot. I will most certainly be using the deep litter method. Should I build up off of the ground or use the ground as my floor? I would be able to build a slightly larger enclosure if I didn't have to put a floor in it, (financially speaking) but I don't want to look back and regret it a year from now for some currently unknown reason...

I could stretch the budget a bit and make it a little more comfy with a dirt floor..... what do y'all think?

Thanks for the input!

Jeff

 

[Shared Acres]

We built ours on the ground and rake it periodically and add fresh sand. The chickens seem to love it. ANd overall seems like less maintenance and less expense (shavings).

 

[Nava]

2by4 for them to roost on plywood under to cath the poop from that night and sand floor that's how i did it

 

[Firemenlovechicks]

Do you guys have any moisture problems with the coop being directly on the ground? Our yard is flat and drains fairly well, but on very rare occaisions we have been known to get ALOT of rain that can keep the ground saturated for 2-3 days........

 

[dovecanyon]

If you use a few inches of sand it will drain and be easy to keep clean and fresh.

 

[paulpig]

dirt floor here......in the run and roosting area. I use the wood pellets under a bunch of sawdust to control moisture. I also buried hardware cloth a foot deep and a foot bent into the coop and concreted. the chickens WILL dig inside the coop. And predators dig to get in..........I have lots of roosting ladders, ledges, and boxes for them to stay dry and off floor if they want.............good luck

 

[cook_kaka_ook]

The run in my coop has a dirt flooring. I've installed a roof to keep the moisture out. It works great during wet days. The flock can still have dust bath even on rainy days.

 

[paulpig]

i also use DE on the floor as well............

 

[Scott]

Dirt floor and deep litter method here... has worked like a charm for 3 years. Just be sure to build on an area that has good drainage.

 

[silkiechicken]

I have more of a tractor style coop thing that has a dirt floor, litter goes in and when I need fresh, soft, rockless compost, I scrape down a few inches and dig it up!