Hi there, I'm just looking into getting chickens, I've never owned any but have taken care of my old bosses' chickens. I'm looking forward to building my own coop in the next couple of months, and was planning on having the coop and run detachable so I could move it on my dad's flatbed trailer whenever I move- not in the near future though.
But basically I would like to know if there is a reason why I see all these coops raised off the ground, and if I need to have it raised? My ideal coop would be big enough that I could walk into it to clean it, and it looks like it could be pretty difficult if the coop is raised. Also I don't know if a raised coop is more work because it's not on dirt floor and I don't think you could use the deep litter method, though I do kind of like the idea of using linoleum flooring (and I'll be adding a poop board under the roosting perches).
The coop will still be enclosed with ventilation, and I'm not really worried about "winterizing" too much (I live in Northeast FL, no snow, gets below freezing maybe a handful-dozen times but usually never for the whole day, and my old boss just used heat lamps which worked well with her flock), so not sure if that played a part on the raised coop or not.
Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated
But basically I would like to know if there is a reason why I see all these coops raised off the ground, and if I need to have it raised? My ideal coop would be big enough that I could walk into it to clean it, and it looks like it could be pretty difficult if the coop is raised. Also I don't know if a raised coop is more work because it's not on dirt floor and I don't think you could use the deep litter method, though I do kind of like the idea of using linoleum flooring (and I'll be adding a poop board under the roosting perches).
The coop will still be enclosed with ventilation, and I'm not really worried about "winterizing" too much (I live in Northeast FL, no snow, gets below freezing maybe a handful-dozen times but usually never for the whole day, and my old boss just used heat lamps which worked well with her flock), so not sure if that played a part on the raised coop or not.
Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated