Plywood floor for run

[lotsalyons]

I have someone coming this morning to build a run. It will be attached to my shed. The ground is a little uneven and I asked him about predators and he said I needed 2 sheets of plywood for the floor. He wants to build a floor system. But most of the ones I see have dirt floors with bedding on top. It seems to me that plywood would be strange in a run. I think he wants to do that to build it up off the ground. It's also expensive (for me) and I feel I could use that 50 bucks on bedding or other things for the chickens. Have any of you ever had a plywood floor in your run?

 

[katbriar]

I can't see from your profile where you are located but if you have a humid climate the plywood will warp and rot within a couple of seasons unless it's built high enough off the ground for significant air flow (just like your house floor).

It may be that he's suggesting the floor in order to predator proof the run which is a good concern. However another way you can do that and deal with the sloping ground is to buy a 2' wide roll of hardware cloth and lay it down as an apron around the outside perimeter of your run. Use screws and what are sold as "fender washers" to fasten the edge of the hardware cloth to the edge of the run. You can lay rocks, mulch, paving stones, or some dirt over top of it or let the weeds/grass grow through it.

The hardware cloth worked well with the uneven ground around my run and coop.

Eta- AND your birds will enjoy scratching in dirt more than plywood!

 

[yolksonus]

Our coop and run is on a slope. We put down crushed rock/pebbles and evened out the area. We then topped the rock with hardware cloth and cement blocks around the edges, and then sand. See the pics below:

 

[21hens-incharge]

I would invest in the apron if predators are a concern. I totally agree that they will enjoy the dirt FAR more than the plywood.
There is a screw called a modified truss head screw that works very well on hardware cloth. It makes it cheaper and easier than the fender washers. You can also use a 1x3 board to pin the hardware cloth to the frame so again avoiding the expensive fender washers.

I think you can see in the top of this pic that I did that for the chain link run I built. I used 2x2's for it since I had them on hand.