Newbie - Need Coop Flooring Help

[2dream]

I have read this entire forum 3 time from front to back in the last 2 days. Thanks to you all. The pics and previously asked questions have supplied me with volumes of info. After a weeks worth of research (BYC being my final and most important research place) I have finally decided on a coop design.
I plan on cheap vinyl on the floor but - read somewhere about a tarp on the floor held in place by cup holders screwed into the side of the wall. Has anyone done this? How did it work out?
I have not had chickens in 20 years and am so excited.

 

[Buster]

I read somewhere on here about "deep littering". It's what I'm going to do in my coop. I've started already. Does anyone know where the link is? I'll see if I can find it, but if someone else knows readily, then please post.

 

[Buster]

The reason I suggested deep littering was because you mentioned the tarp on the floor. I assume this is so you can just roll it up when it's dirty. Here is the link for the thread about the deep littering method, sorry it took me so long to find it.

http://backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=70

Good luck!

 

[KingsCalls]

I used old treated decking boards. They were free (from a deck tear-down) and they should last for a long time.

 

[2dream]

Thanks for the info - The tarp idea just sounded so neat and easy. Unhook it, pull it out, hose off, put back in. I have months before the chicken house is complete and the chicks arrive.
This is the NEW major project at my house.

 

[SeaChick]

KingsCalls-

Not to cause trouble, but aren't you worried the chickens might peck the boards and get arsenic ingested and passed to your eggs?!?!? The reason that old decks are being torn down and replaced, often, is because the "old" decking was arsenic-treated (up until like 4 or 5 years ago, I think) and was causing health problems when kids got splinters or otherwise got it into their bodies.... really baaaaaad stuff.

I think that even the new treated lumber is considered a bad idea around chickens, who peck on everything (atleast mine do!) since it is treated with chemicals that -while not as uber-toxic as arsenic- are still toxic.

I am sorry to be a trouble-maker.......
Stacey

 

[SeaChick]

2 dream-

We used linoleum scrap on the floor and so far it has worked GREAT. We use about 3-4 inches of wood shavings on top of that which get changed about once every 5 weeks in winter, every 2 months in summer. (There's a "droppings board" under the roost which catches the MAJORITY of the droppings so the shavings do last longer.) The lino is very easy to clean!

Stacey

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
I haven'y tried it in the coop but I can tell you that the tarps I put on the floor in my hay barn (under hay-up-on-pallets, to protect against condensation or floods) do not last long at all. Even if I have them pretty tightly stretched and flat to the floor, inevitably when I am raking up loose hay with my plastic shavings-fork the tines catch on the tarp material and poke little holes thru it. If you want a floor other than plywood earth or concrete I really think you'd be much better off with vinyl. It is easy to shovel the bedding into a wheelbarrow (or onto a tarp if for some reason you prefer) when cleanng!

Pat

 

[chickflick]

I would think that the chickens would scratch the heck out of the tarp. Even with deep littering, the chickens will scratch to the floor. You would end up with a bigger mess than if you did nothing.

 

[Dawn419]

More info on using the DLM/deep litter method.

Dawn