Why Keep The Coop Off Of The Ground?

[Ellochicken]

Hey BYC!
I've been looking at some new chicken coop designs for my future fluffy butts, and I saw that almost every coop I looked at was raised of the ground. Why is that? Is it for winter, bug protection, or does it just look better?
Thanks!

-Ellochicken

 

[ozarslan]

When the above poultry the smell is less than because of air flow and you dont need to bend over for to care with them.

 

[Peaceeagle1]

Raised coops also provide some( maybe not much) added protection against predators and gives the flock a cool shaded place to hang out on hot days.

 

[mariespear]

Our hen house is raised off of the floor by a pallet, we did this so that the bottom didn't rot out in the bad weather, but the girls have taken a liking to going under there on these hot days we are having here in the u.k

 

[JackE]

The main reason my coop is raised, is so I can see what's going on under there. A coop sitting on the ground provides a GREAT hidden place for rodents and other pests, to set up housing for themselves. Out of the weather, with plenty of food close by.
Jack

 

[locoguru]

I concur with JackE!

 

[chynasparks]

We are building our coop on a concrete slab. It can be moved with a dolly and 3 PVC pipes. Going with sand over the concrete and wood chips in the upper roost/nest house. I read, and read, and re-read forums and books about housing chickens and am just as confused as before reading. That's because for every good suggestion there are 3 voices against it and vice-versa. That's why I decided to go with the sand. I can kep it clean and when the time comes I will have to change it out. It seems most any type of floor, bedding eventually has to get changed out. I guess there really isn't a clear answer. What works for one coop isn't going to work for another. We all want the same thing, clean housing and happy chickens. I just hope my sand plan works.

 

[Irishhenman]

We have our stand still houses raised for loads of reasons. It is easier to clean them because you don't have to bend down as much, It gives our birds a sheltered area outside for when it rains, the wood doesn't wrot on the ground and one of the main reasons is that rats and mice don't move in underneath

 

[chynasparks]

Our coop is all enclosed no bottom to it. We put on a concrete slab so critters can dig into it. The coop can be moved off of the slab 2 people using a dolly and PVC pipes. Slides around pretty easy. When we are home mostly weekend we can move into the yard. But mostly it will stay on the slab. We want to attach a run in the near future. They will have a ladder leading to the roost/ nest house. Having never raised chickens before I keep second guessing myself and worry that I'm making bad choices. But we've made our choices so we need to work with that. Just hope my 4 little peeps will be happy. I believe they will, they quickly outgrowing their present pen. They should be able to move in by the weekend.

 

[Bleenie]

My main coop has a dirt floor and the biggest problem I've had in there is rats tunneling around, makes it pretty unsafe to walk around it & the rats have stolen eggs in the past too.

Why my new coops are(and are going to be) raised:
- Easier access to cleaning
- No rodent problems underneath, messing with ground stability.
- Cool place for the birds to hang out when it's hot
- Safe place to hide from flying predators.
- More square footage for the birds on the ground. If they have to be confined to the run, I want them to have as much room as possible.