Updating floor in coop

[MissAllison]

I work on a non-profit educational farm and am hoping to update the floor in our chicken coop. It's a historic building that has been on the property for quite a long time and the owner is not interested in any major renovations... even minor ones are a challenge due to our shoestring budget. However, we have kids occasionally in the coop collecting eggs and feeding the chickens during the summer and I've taken it upon myself to clean the thing out as it hasn't been cleaned in ages (child safety, chicken health, etc.). After scooping out over 150 gallons of poop, straw, and nastiness from a 9'x12' coop, I'm finally down to the original concrete floor, which is sloped quite a bit in places-- I would say an 8 inch difference from the highest point to the lowest. Now that I've made it to this point, I'm not sure what to do next. I think I'd like to put in a sand floor as it seems that's easier to maintain (I'm willing to spend a few minutes a day scooping poop) and would be healthier for the chickens and children, but does anyone have any suggestions for how to deal with the sloped concrete? Can I put gravel in the deep spots to level the floor then put sand over top? I get the impression that pouring concrete on concrete doesn't generally work well. Anything else I should be thinking about?

 

[Wrooster]

You're going to need a lot of sand and a way to keep the sand in place. Doesn't sound practical to me. Why not straw? It's cheap and will stay where you put it.

 

[Mrwinchester]

sand is cheep, just fill and level it' no need for gravel or concrete just sand . my run slopes but you would never know it . save time and money get sand

 

[aart]

I would agree with the filling with sand, straw is harder to keep clean unless you totally muck out and replace and can grow mold and mildew.
Is the building weather tight? No problem with water infiltration?
Can you post some pics of the floor and surrounding walls with any openings? Might help folks to come up with a solution.

 

[Wrooster]

I would agree with the filling with sand, straw is harder to keep clean unless you totally muck out and replace and can grow mold and mildew.
Is the building weather tight? No problem with water infiltration?
Can you post some pics of the floor and surrounding walls with any openings? Might help folks to come up with a solution.

I agree about the straw. My concern with sand, not knowing what the place really looks like, is that it won't stay in place and, with concrete under it, will trap moisture, bugs, etc. I'd rather change straw than sand. Of course self-maintaining is better but would sand get you that, in this case?

Yes, pics would help.

 

[MissAllison]

I can try to get some pics, I've been trying to find the charger for our organization's camera... things disappear around here. I'll keep hunting. I guess I need one of those fancy smartphones!

I should note that the building is fairly weather-tight. It does have a large window on one side that's covered with mesh, but I haven't noticed any moisture problems besides from our waterer leaking (which I plan to replace ASAP). The window is always open and we've had a couple of bad storms since I cleaned the coop a couple of weeks ago-- no puddles on the bare concrete. If anything, the window encourages airflow to keep things dryer. There is a ledge all the way around the wall, I dug out several inches (read: several years worth!) of muck and straw when I cleaned it. Even the exit to the run has a slight (that's just about 2" but it's a higher part of the floor than the rest of the space) ledge to it... so keeping the sand in the coop doesn't seem like a huge problem to me.

I'm very interested in trying the sand thing, especially since it seems like it's pretty inexpensive and I think it will make the coop more pleasant and much easier to clean day-to-day. It's not a huge coop, just 12'x9', so from what I can tell I only need about 1.33 cu. yards of sand. My only concern is the existing floor, and whether the sand will level out the floor despite a pretty serious slope (it's almost a hole). People will step on the part with the slope (the floor is sloped where the people door is), so I don't want my feet sinking super deep into the sand when I walk in.

Thanks everyone so far for your suggestions.

 

[Mrwinchester]

I can try to get some pics, I've been trying to find the charger for our organization's camera... things disappear around here. I'll keep hunting. I guess I need one of those fancy smartphones!

I should note that the building is fairly weather-tight. It does have a large window on one side that's covered with mesh, but I haven't noticed any moisture problems besides from our waterer leaking (which I plan to replace ASAP). The window is always open and we've had a couple of bad storms since I cleaned the coop a couple of weeks ago-- no puddles on the bare concrete. If anything, the window encourages airflow to keep things dryer. There is a ledge all the way around the wall, I dug out several inches (read: several years worth!) of muck and straw when I cleaned it. Even the exit to the run has a slight (that's just about 2" but it's a higher part of the floor than the rest of the space) ledge to it... so keeping the sand in the coop doesn't seem like a huge problem to me.

I'm very interested in trying the sand thing, especially since it seems like it's pretty inexpensive and I think it will make the coop more pleasant and much easier to clean day-to-day. It's not a huge coop, just 12'x9', so from what I can tell I only need about 1.33 cu. yards of sand. My only concern is the existing floor, and whether the sand will level out the floor despite a pretty serious slope (it's almost a hole). People will step on the part with the slope (the floor is sloped where the people door is), so I don't want my feet sinking super deep into the sand when I walk in.

Thanks everyone so far for your suggestions.

don't worry you wont sink it's not quicksand lol. just add more where needed and rake it out walla its level.It's that easy , you could have a hole to china and still never know it was there under your feet LOL