Who has a dirt floor in their coops?

[MandyH]

Hubby pulls the wire tight while you staple it. That's how we did ours.

 

[Kung Foo Chicken]

Yeah got a dirt floor in one of mine. No problems as I sweep it out daily. The chickens love it and dig in the dirt. I do have to refill their holes every so often. Not many problems with predators except dogs in the neighborhood. Since they are in a fence within a fence the dogs can't come close.

 

[MamaDragon]

We've got an 8x10 repurposed Garden Shed for our coop. It was built on a cinder paver block perimeter, with a plywood floor. The floor has rotted out, doors fallen off, and was a pain. We cleaned it all out, ripped out the remaining flooring, raked up the odds and ends, and snugged a chain-link dog kennel to it for an enclosed run. Covered it all with a big tarp, and Voila! 1 henhouse.

It started with grass, but you know how long THAT lasts with chickens. I started spreading straw on the ground, but during rainy weather, it quickly became a quagmire! Took the straw back out, no more quagmire, rain quickly drains away, and it smells better. The chickens are happier, they can dust-bathe, scratch for ants and other bugs, any spilled feed, etc. They fill in each other's holes, the poop dries quickly, and I don't have a bad fly problem. I only have to rake up in there about once a week, as they free-range during the day, and only stay in the coop at night or if I'm not home.

The next door neighbor would lay down about 3-inches of straw, it became a slip & slide to get in there when it rained, stunk to high-heaven, took 1/2 day to muck out, and the flys were horrendous!

I'd rather have good, clean dirt/sand any day.

Kathy

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
You could pour a concrete footer around the base and leave the bulk of it inside the coop. This will prevent any digging from either side and leave you an edge on which to placing joists, in case you want to add a floor later. You may also want to place concrete blocks on your footer, or just use concrete blocks alone for a base, on which to rest your walls. This will keep the walls from being right on the ground and deteriorating as quickly.

My coop with a dirt floor had concrete block foundation with a small ledge jutting inside the coop. This was great for placing nest boxes on! My floor didn't need any bedding as my birds free ranged, so they spent very little time in the coop. What time they spent, they turned any fecal matter into the sandy, soft soil. Cleanest coop I've ever had....no fuss, no muss!

 

[al6517]

Quote:
I too had dirt floors in my coop and run's, but in Texas and south Oklahoma it does not rain ever, it is run for hills storms. on avg it is not unusual during a storm to get 2-3" of rain in an hour, 3-5 times a week. the devil doesn't live here but he comes to visit during storm season. I got really tired of wallowing in inches deep mud, so I too layed concrete in both areas, and man do I love it. it takes no time at all to clean and hose out, lay new straw and I am outa there, I really like it. the storms really left us no choice.

AL

 

[brandywine]

My "coop" is a converted stall in the barn, and it has a dirt floor. Two walls are the concrete block foundation of the barn, one and a half walls are wooden stall walls (with plastic poultry netting to the ceiling, and the other half "wall" is a wire mesh door.

I pegged down some coated hardware cloth in the outside corner where there was rodent activity, and so far they haven't tunneled back in.

I use deep litter -- sawdust that was intended as horse bedding. It is working fantastic. I just rake it about five times a week. Will clean out in spring, if it needs it.

No odor, though it is a little dusty. Droppings seem to just vaporize.

The birds bathe in the litter, it's too deep for them to get to the earth floor.

I'm thinking of putting another coop in up the hill next year; I'll dig a footer and bury one course of concrete block, then raise the wooden shed on a second course of blocks.

 

[cyrixlord]

I have a dirt floor that holds my deep litter of straw. the poop goes there. the chickens are suspended 4 feet above this floor by plex slats on rails that allow me to create gaps that allow poop to drop to the floor. since they're 2x4 they make perfect perches. the chickens do not go into this dirt floor. there is a door that i can access the deep litter pile to put it in the composter while the chickens are in their coop.

Of course I only have 2 chickens, but this could work pretty well for a few more.

keeps everythign clean with minimal fuss and no odor!

 

[Oblio13]

I have two coops with dirt floors. I'm about to build a third. It will have a dirt floor as well.

I bury a strip of chicken wire along the outside, so far nothing has dug under. (I've had a dog and a mink get in, but not by digging.) I use a deep litter of leaves and/or pine needles, and rake them out for use in the garden from time to time.

 

[hoosier]

We are just building our second coop and it will have a dirt floor like our first.

Now to your other question - Poultry netting will keep chooks in, but won't keep out most predators. I am not sure of your setup so it may be fine for you if you have another fence all around your coop and your dogs don't try to get in. As far as stretching it tightly.... I find it to be next to impossible as it seems to stetch out of shape.