Raised coop vs on-grade

[Taylor-Lorraine]

Designing coop V2.0, and I see nearly everyone raises their coop off the ground, even the larger ones. My original coop was up a foot, and that was enough for chickens to get under and lay, but not enough for me to easily retrieve eggs.
It's very common to build a shed on grade, not sure why I'd want space underneath a coop. If there's reasons, I can always block it off from the run, but it seems having it on the ground would even give a measure of insulation in the winter vs having airflow underneath.

Thoughts?

 

[PirateGirl]

If your coop is a walk in coop, I do not see any reason to raise it. If it is not walk in, then raising it makes it easier to access to collect eggs, clean, etc.

 

[IamRainey]

I'd LOVE a walk-in coop. I'd do it if I could! But I don't have much space for my chickens on a 1/4 acre backyard -- about 1/3 of which is pool and another 1/3 is garden and lawn. So a step-up over part of the run makes the most of the space I have.

My reduced height run is about 3' high. That's high enough to put a brooding kennel in but not high enough to retrieve an errant egg. I use a kid's small bamboo rake for that. But everything else -- including the coop -- is tall enough for me to stand up straight in. The shallow part of the run also provides a convenient spot to hang the feeder and gives the hens strong shade in the hot months. So it's not all bad. AND my hens don't need tall space, they just need SPACE in their run.

 

[PirateGirl]

I agree with @IamRainey in terms of space! I also have a raised coop, partly because I only have a small yard, the same square footage can be counted in the coop AND in the run. It allows me to have more space in the run without taking up more of my yard.

 

[jthornton]

I see nearly everyone raises their coop off the ground, even the larger ones

It sure looks that way if you cruse the internet looking at all the cute doll houses that claim to be a coop but end up being cute garden ornaments. If you ride around here you won't see any cute raised coops, they are all walk in, well except for the one I build based on plans from Home Depot... which turned out to be terrible plans and after many modifications I at least have a place for them to roost at night. Working on converting a shed to a walk in coop now...

JT

 

[PirateGirl]

Number of birds and size of the coop will factor into which design might be more practical for you.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

If you've the means for a walk in coop then there is little reason to raise it other than to level if on grade or to raise enough to prevent snow or moisture build up that will deteriorate the bottom. Stilts is common practice for both built on slopes and keeping bottom dry to prevent premature rot.

The last thing you want to do is build with walls on ground. Sonna tubes, cement block or posts are typical. The height you make it is up to you. Only advantage of three feet space is it doubles as a run/shade area. As you mentioned this kind of tight space makes for retrieving birds a pain.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Mine's a walk in shed and sits slightly raised, about 4, 5" off the ground. Due to ground moisture it doesn't sit on the ground for the sake of keeping the wood from rotting. That also means a wood floor instead of a dirt floor, which so far has proven much better for cleaning and for keeping rodents out.

I put hardware cloth around the gap to keep chickens/rodents from getting in. An adult chicken wouldn't fit but chicks sure would.

 

[culturalinfidel]

We built ours 24" off the ground. Has been fantastic so far. Our girls like to hang out under the coop when it gets too hot in the day for them. Been a couple of years and so far I really like the design that we went with.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-pictures-here.596294/page-1659#post-18304540

 

[Aunt Angus]

Mine is a walk-in and on the ground. I have no problem with moisture here, and It sits on a "dug out" of gravel just in case. And my coop was coated with waterproofing compound first. I like it - SO easy to clean, and the girls use it as an extended part of the run. They are in and out of it all day. Bonus points - I don't have to bend or stoop to clean or gather eggs AND it provides storage space! I only have 8 pullets, and my coop is only 32 sq ft because the girls are out and about all day, so the only purpose it needs to serve is to provide secure roosting and laying space. I will likely never have a raised coop unless it is a shed with a slightly raised foundation or something like. I won't ever have anything other than a walk-in so long as I have room!