what's a good coop liner?

[nuthatched]

Hi all, I'm getting ready to rebuild my coop and I'm trying to decide on the coop floor covering and I need advice.
My options I've narrowed down to are vinyl sheet flooring or a rubberized or asphalt roofing roll on (blackjack 57 is what I see mentioned often but it not available in my area.)
I'm looking for a flooring that's waterproof (no seams) and durable.
Thanks!

 

[Boise-girls]

It might depend on what you'll use as bedding. I have a piece of vinyl floor covering over plywood. It was too slippery when I was using chopped straw. The hens would slide when they came down from the roost.

I switched to hemp, and that works great on the vinyl. For some reason, it stays in place and just gives them a nice cushion when they land. I would think wood chips would also work well in that situation.

 

[rosemarythyme]

BlackJack would fit the bill for both durable + no seams but yes it can be difficult to get. I had to go to a Lowes a distance away to get it (it can be ordered online however it's quite expensive that way).

Alternatively you can see if there's a similar waterproofing compound available at any of your local hardware stores, and compare the spec sheets to see if you can find a close match.

 

[suburbanfarmermi]

i am doing the deep litter method with pine shavings. i considered painting the osb but ended up going with vinyl tiles. i would have preferred a solid remnant of vinyl but did not find something cheap at the time. my coop is only 6 months old, so it is still early but since i keep the floor covered in deep litter the floor does not come into contact with wet poop.

 

[saysfaa]

I used blackjack 57 but if I were to do it again I would use porch and patio floor paint. I can't see any advantage to the blackjack and it was a lot more expensive and a lot more difficult to use.

 

[3KillerBs]

In the Little Monitor Coop I use Deep Bedding on top of bare wood. Since it's absolutely dry and I keep food and water outside in the run I have never had an issue.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-little-monitor-coop.76275/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

 

[mowin]

I used the cheapest roll vinyl from HD. I used construction adhesive and installed it before I built the walls. I wanted the walls to hold the vinyl edges down.
I also found straw to be a little slippery, so I now yes pine shavings with no issues.

 

[Shezadandy]

How big is your coop?

We used horse stall mats as the floor in every one of our animal buildings- goats and chickens. We did a standard floor frame, plywood over the floor frame, then put the stall mats over the plywood. Then the walls get built on TOP OF the stall mats - so you need extra long screws when attaching the walls to the floor frames, but it makes an excellent gasket for the building. They come in 4x6 and 4x8. Mine have seams (because my buildings are bigger than a single mat) but because the outside edges are all secured by the screws holding the walls to the floor frame, they don't move. Excellent traction for everyone. Made for 1200lb animals. No moisture issues.

 

[Weeg]

How big is your coop?

We used horse stall mats as the floor in every one of our animal buildings- goats and chickens. We did a standard floor frame, plywood over the floor frame, then put the stall mats over the plywood. Then the walls get built on TOP OF the stall mats - so you need extra long screws when attaching the walls to the floor frames, but it makes an excellent gasket for the building. They come in 4x6 and 4x8. Mine have seams (because my buildings are bigger than a single mat) but because the outside edges are all secured by the screws holding the walls to the floor frame, they don't move. Excellent traction for everyone. Made for 1200lb animals. No moisture issues.

This seems like the easiest option if you ask me. This is probably what I would use.

 

[Shezadandy]

This seems like the easiest option if you ask me. This is probably what I would use.

It is pretty darn easy. They also make varying widths of 1/4" rubber mat on a roll up to 50ft long. I've seen them 30" and 48" around here. I use the thin stuff for the top of my roost tables and for inside the nest boxes for easy cleaning. The stall mats on the floor are 3/4" thick.