Why are coops built off the ground?

[WendyinKY]

I've kept chickens for decades and always built the henhouse on the ground -- on a concrete slab, actually, for predator protection. And lots of shaving on top. Anyway, I am wanting a new design and the majority of buildings I see online are built up off the ground. Is there a reason for this? Seems like it would make the henhouse cold!
Thanks - Wendy

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I don't think it makes the house colder than being on a cold slab of concrete that wicks that cold from the surrounding frozen soil.
I've had a couple buildings on concrete but the rest are all elevated. The advantages can depend on one's climate. Here, an elevated coop allows for a cool shaded space in extremely hot weather and a dry place to dust bathe year round.

 

[LJ33]

We chose an off the ground design bc we live 500 feet from a river, get a lot of rain and can have small flooding in the yard. And in the summer, they still have a nice shaded area to hang out in.

 

[WendyinKY]

We chose an off the ground design bc we live 500 feet from a river, get a lot of rain and can have small flooding in the yard. And in the summer, they still have a nice shaded area to hang out in.

That makes sense!

 

[Mamatomany123]

We built ours up because we live in Texas. Its HOT 90% of the year. Being able to have access under the coop allows for a nice cool spot to hand out. Our yard also does flood a bit during rain season so it will give them a dry place inside during that time.

 

[3KillerBs]

The small coop we used for the in-town, backyard flock was elevated to provide additional space in the run without increasing the footprint of the chicken area.

 

[ChicKittyHouse]

My first coop was a converted storage shed and was on a concrete floor. I really like it a lot, but the one I am building now will be a few inches off the ground. I am using vinyl flooring in it and I will have the back of the coop about 3 inches lower than the front. With 2 grates at floor level in the back I am hoping this will make cleaning much easier. There is so much to consider when constructing a new coop. I have been looking at small exhaust fans. Has anyone had experience with them?

 

[speedy2020]

I have shipping box coop. The coop was built off ground and cover with rabbit wire. I used the bottom to quarantine new chicken, allow chicken place to hang out when the weather hot/cold/rainy day, place to separate unwanted rooster, and use as brooder box for young chick. As right now, I have 12 2-weeks old Breese chicks under there.

 

[~KH~]

The small coop we used for the in-town, backyard flock was elevated to provide additional space in the run without increasing the footprint of the chicken area.

This is why both my in-town coops have been elevated. If I didn't need that extra run space, I would definitely build a walk-in coop just to make it easier to clean and manage.

 

[Chullicken]

Like its been said, various reasons. With mine for example by building it a few feet off the ground I was able to increase my run space by 12 square feet. Other wise its just really dead space, my kids really don't spend a lot of time inside so it would have just been dead space. Plus, I had mine about two feet because its easier for me to just open the coop door and do what I need to do without bending over and all that. My next one will be a walk in I think, kind of looking to change somethings up.