space under coop

cottagechick

Songster
8 Years
Jul 11, 2011
594
9
123
Cottage Grove, Oregon
I notice a lot of coops are a foot or more off of the ground with room for the chickens to get under the coop. Is this a good idea? I was planning on putting it a few inches above the ground and blocking them out of it...but if there is a reason to I can raise it higher and let them under it.

thanks,
Julie
 
Some folks raise their coops so that the chooks have a cool place to stay out of the sun in the summer.

I feel it's just a place for them to lay eggs that you can't get to.

Mine is only raised a couple of inches, simply to let air flow through during our hot summers.... but it's blocked off.
 
Raising it a little can encourage rats and such unless you take precautions against them. Raising it a foot or more also increases the amount of run space they have, and gives them a place they can feel hidden. If you do this, you will probably be glad later if you make it fairly easy for you to access.
 
I raised mine 24" so I can see under it. Anytime you raise a floor a few inches you give a hiding spot of snakes and rats or even an opposum. And has been said, it is a cool spot, which my dog loves for now. I did surround it with hardware cloth with a 22"X24" door for cleaning, or collecting the wayward eggs.
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When I'm done completely I'll put sand under there.
 
My main coop is built on the ground. My bantam coop is raised - around 20 inches so that they can go underneath. But it's raised enough so (unwanted) critters won't want to hang out there and I have easy access. I wouldn't want a coop raised just a foot or so...
 
i agree with the others. mine is 20 inches off the ground to prevent varmints from taking up residence and to allow for more "floor space" fo my hens. a few weeks ago when it was over 100 degrees here my hens stayed primarily under the coop. i have place a 50\\50 mix of top soill and sand under there so they can wallow in it and dig themselves little furrows to sit in. the only regret is i did not build an access door to get under there easily. so far the only reason i have had was to clean out the corn cobs thet seem to drag under there.

AG
 
We are in the process of building our coop right now. It will be on the ground, on a cement slab left by previous owner who raised dogs or some such thing. We gave a lot of thought to which style we wanted and finally decided a walk in coop would be better for us in the long run. We are adding a large covered run (we have a huge predator problem), so the birds will have plenty of other space to roam. My aching back had a spasm just thinking about trying to get under a coop for raking/cleaning! Best of luck to you, there's a coop style for everyone!
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Ours is up 3 ft or so our run is larger. We have limited space and it is moveable, so we needed as much as we can. Plus it is easier to clean for me.

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I raised mine off the ground. My yard is very sloped, and setting posts was easier than excavating (For some reason, I like digging post holes). I figure that the bonus is added place for the chicks to go, no groundhogs digging underneath the coop, and the ability to get underneath to clean when needed.

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P.S. No, I don't contract out for posthole digging.
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