What is the flooring in your coop.....

[Crazy4GameCocks]

no floor just dirt in mine nature cause they like to roll in the dirtl

 

[Brian]

OK guys...tell me, what am I missing here???

I just have my plywood subfloor, and then lots of litter (straw and shavings) on top of that. It would be virtually impossible for a hen to drop a turd and hit the plywood below. Instead, all droopings land on the litter, where they dry out. I go in their every couple of days and stir things up. With deep litter (or my semi-deep litter method), the floor stays dry. Over where I have the feeder and waterer, I have an extra scrap of plywood under those, in case I spill water. So...all of that having been said, why use a pond liner, canvas, linoleum, etc? What am I missing? Clean up is still a matter of raking, shoveling, or sweeping, so I don't really see the need for some waterproof substrate.

This is a little like the decision whether or not to use the arm rest protectors that come with your new sofa. Some people use them right away, hoping to preserve their new sofa and waiting until the covers get dirty before they take them off. Others wait until the arm rests begin to show some wear, then put on the arm rests that they have saved to use (to cover up the dirty sofa arms).

 

[Wildsky]

Dirt.

My coop is big, it was a shed previously and had a dirt floor.. its great for rainy wet nasty days as they have plenty of entertainment and can still take a dust bath....

I do cover for the most part with shavings, but they gotta dig through that to the dirt to scratch around in case they missed a piece of corn or something.

 

[Mrs MIA]

I think the linoleum/vinyl is easier to sanitize. For most small backyard flocks the plywood/litter method is fine... We have plywood/litter in our 8x8' coop, and yes, it works great. I got the idea of tiles/linoleum from someone in Australia that said it was really easy to clean. I have scraps of vinyl under my brooders, and it's a breeze to just pick it up and shake the poopies off... hit it with a mop with bleach and it's more than clean.

I think it's all a personal preference, really. Shavings are really expensive for me, so I'd rather use as little as possible. The vinyl is a lot easier to clean than plywood, and though it's a little more expenditure up front, I believe it will save a lot of backache later.

 

[redoak]

Tonight I removed the linoleum from the kitchen to install in the chicken coop tomorrow. I wonder if the wife will notice.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
LMAO!!! I think she will... are you replacing it with something nice?

 

[ella]

I also have linoleum and I love it. I have drains built into the floor and twice a year the whole coop gets hosed out and scrubbed with bleach water. Just did it today in fact.

The chickens don't care but I enjoy hanging out in a really clean coop!

 

[redoak]

We've talked about replacing it with ceramic tile, but nothing set in stone. I like the plywood better then the old linoleum anyway. She's at work tonight so I'll find out what she thinks in the morning.

 

[FrontPorchIndiana]

Quote:

Um yeah, I think she might pick up on that.


I just bought the super cheap stick on vinyl tiles today for our coop. Over time the manure smell will penetrate plywood. But if you use vinyl or something like it you can clean with bleach and delay that smelly smell build up.

When I was a kid we kept our chickens in the barn. It had a concrete foundation. We could just spray it out with a hose. That was the best.

 

[CarlaRiggs]

Um...... your timing may have been a little off with the flooring, Redoak.

Perhaps you might buy some roses and chocolates to cover the kitchen floor before your wife comes home. Just being helpful.