Ways to improve a coop with a dirt floor

[LaynaDon95]

Sooo.... We built our chicken coop almost a year ago and I love it! One thing I didn't think about though, was building it directly on the ground. It's been fine for the most part, but I've noticed with all the poo shoveling I do, and with all the scratching the flock does, the dirt level is very rapidly dropping... How do I help stop/slow this? Anyone with ideas?

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

I have my current temporary coop(wanted to see if I likes raising chickens before investing in coop) is on open floor. I use pine shavings to around 2-3 inches deep, so they scratch it more than the actual dirt. I am going to be building a coop off the side of my shed in the spring since I love chickens.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Put about 8 inches of pine shavings and you won't have to worry about losing dirt

 

[Clay Mudd]

Put about 8 inches of pine shavings and you won't have to worry about losing dirt

+1. I also throw in smaller amounts of leaves and grass clippings, as well as a bit of sod now and then when I've dug a new garden bed or whatever. Instead of "poo shoveling", I pull out a wheelbarrow load of old bedding now and then, and replace it with fresh shavings.