Suitable floor material

[woodlumn]

well after many months of reading here and elsewhere, and after many sketches and wasted sheets of paper, I'm almost ready to act on my hen house plans!

I do have a couple of lingering questions though...

I have decided to elevate the coop, mostly because our ground is lumpy. Does plywood make a good floor? I'm afraid that it would rot under the litter, especially if I used the deep litter method. If I was to use the deep litter method, what should the minimum inside height be?

I don't know why I'm having such a hard time coming up with a design that I like, but I'm getting close.

Thank you for your help and for all the great info on this site!

 

[AmyBella]

I've been keeping an eye out for linoleum or vinyl flooring scraps for my coop. The floor is plywood painted with killz and I have been putting down newspaper and then the bedding, but the wood still gets a little yucky and it is hard to clean. (I've never done deep litter)

I'm sure that your chickens will appreciate all of the thought and effort that you put into their home! Good luck!

 

[fordmommy]

You should go to your local flooring store and see if they have some leftover linoleum or something on that order. Maybe you can piece it together. And hey! It will probably be free!

 

[woodlumn]

thanks for the thoughts - scrap linoleum seems like a pretty good idea!

come to think of it, I've got half a gallon of elastomeric roof paint that we used on our metal roof last year and I'll bet that might work too - it turns rubbery to provide a water-resistant coat.

thanks for helping me think this through!

 

[Mandy1296]

I would definatetly do the linoleum. My DH planned ours, spent about $40 on the piece ( 8x10 coop, mighty nice thick linoleum too ) and man was it ever worth it. Don't bother with trying to piece it together, each seam is a place for moisture to get through. We laid our linoleum on the floor, before the walls were framed, so that we had a little hanging on the outside of the coop, but point is, whole floor is covered in solid piece. Might look around at thrift stores, Habitat for Humanity stores and flea markets too!

Good Luck!

 

[chickluvr]

You can buy light covers, really thick plastic that covers those long lights in buildings at Lowes. Really cheap. Get the ones that bend easy. Score and break off very easy.

 

[Big Chicken Little]

Buy good quality sub flooring and paint it with a deck enamel or epoxy garage paint ... ot lasts and is water resistant