will coop floor deteriorate?

[uplate]

My son and I were thinking we could use a shed we have and convert it into our coop for our 11 chickens. My brother thinks we have to build a new coop on the ground on gravel because he thinks the floor will deteriorate from the chicken pooh. We think that being on the ground will allow predators in. Many of the coops we see here have floors. So we are confused.

Do they deteriorate? What are your suggestions?
Thanks
V

 

[wohneli]

What is the floor made of in the shed you have? If it is made of wood it willl break down over time if it is exposed to moisture and poo.
If you build your coop on the ground and bury the chicken wire about a foot in the ground all the way around the predators should have a very hard time getting in.
Good Luck!

 

[uplate]

It looks like chip board to me. We thought we could just paint it to seal it.
If the coop is on the ground (with the wire buried) isn't it hard to clean?

 

[patandchickens]

If the shed has been there a while and the floor is still sound, you should be fine as long as you take good care of your chickens. The floor is not supposed to be GETTING wet or pooey... you will have a good layer of dry shavings in there to collect the poo, and you will be strenuously avoiding anything that would cause the coop to be damp indoors.

(You will almost certainly need to add a bunch of ventilation to the shed before putting chickens in, btw -- storage sheds never have nearly enough ventilation for chickens, making them too hot and too humid)

You may want to put something on the ground around the outside of the shed to make sure nothing can dig under and then come up through the OSB flooring. An apron of wire laid on the ground or just under the turf, or big concrete pavers, or something like that. You might get away without it for a good while, but possibly you might not, you never know -- it would improve the safety of your chickens.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Chicken Fruit]

in my experience if you're using pellets or something similarly absorbent theres no moisture to cause rot.

You can get some vinyl flooring to put down on it, or some rubber stall mats.

 

[gkeesling]

I was worried my floor would break down over time as well. I went to Lowe's and got some linoleum remnants and put that down. I put the pine shavings on top of that. It makes the clean up go very well.

 

[sangel4you]

can anyone tell me where to get the rubber floor mats and how big they are/ how much they cost approx? Thanks BYCers

 

[Lesa]

You should have no trouble with floor rotting. The only thing about press board, is that sometimes the individual pieces come loose- might be a pain when you are shoveling wood chips out. I would try to find some linoleum and cover it with that. This way your shovel won't catch on anything and it is easier to clean. My coop has plywood, painted and it looks just as good as the first day I had it...I use linoleum on the dropping board and if I find a big enough piece I would add it to the floor, as well.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Like horse stall mats, you mean? I haven't checked US prices lately but it should be around $40 for a 4x6 mat. (Warning to those with bad backs, they weigh a TON and are a real bugger to install). Sometimes cheaper on sale but sale needs to be local b/c shipping is so expensive.

Vinyl flooring remnants are cheaper; a coat of primer and several good thin coats of exterior semigloss paint are even cheaper

Pat

 

[ducks4you]

Get the 1/4 inch buttoned 'cattle mats', instead. They are a little cheaper and weigh SO MUCH LESS! They are still HEAVY, BUT you can move them by rolling them. They get stiff, you pick them up by the ends and then you won't have to drag them.

The horse mats are 1/2 inch thick and SLICKER, even the diamond ones. I HATE

moving them to clean underneath!!!!!
Every time I undertake it I SWEAR that they get H E A V I E R!!!!

They are both TERRIFIC for keeping out moisture.

used them for YEARS