# Chicken house floor



## SueMc (Jan 10, 2010)

We are almost done building our new 16x20 chicken house. The floor is treated plywood that will be covered with deep shavings. I think we should do something else to protect the wood floor. I've read that some people cover it with linoleum. In looking for an answer I also read a suggestion to coat it with paint on rubberized roof coating. 
Does anyone have an opinion on these methods or anything else? The roof coating looks like a good idea but I wondered about chicken pecking at it and eating some.

Also, since the coop in pretty big, would it be better to leave it open or divide it into two separate spaces with a middle aisle? We've already decided to have a small blocked off space to store the feed.
Thanks for any input.


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## parrotman (Jan 27, 2008)

I don't know what would be your better choice for covering the floor, but I do agree that it needs to be covered. If not for the cleaning ability, I would be concerned with the chemicals used to treat the plywood and the chickens having direct contact with it.

Also, are your chickens going to be housed in this coop all the time or will they have range time out of the coop?


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## SueMc (Jan 10, 2010)

Free range. Ours chickens get out of their run everyday since our garden is fenced.


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## suelandress (May 10, 2002)

We coated ours with enamel paint. It really held up during the flood despite being wet for weeks afterwards.


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

I have my coop divided into 2 sections as well as my chicken yard. I do this to keep my young chickens seperate from the older ones. I change my hens out every year. About this time during the year I raise some chicks and to keep them from getting pecked on by the older hens they get 1/2 of my setup. When they start laying eggs I then sell my older hens which are only 1 1/2 years old. They bring a better price than a older hen here because they are still laying good.
My chickens Only roost in the coop, they are not fed in it and there is no nesting boxes. 

I think being you got treated plywood with bedding over it that you do not need anymore protection for the floor(I just never liked using treated wood around the animals--so you might want to paint or cover it---JMO). My floor has sand on top of the plywood and I have a big "sifter" made to seperate the poop, etc from the sand. It takes about 30 minutes every couple months to sift the sand. The chickens mainly poop in the same place at night so I have one of these ( http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/future-forkreg;-mini-stall-fork ) to scoop up these piles every week or two between "cleanings". It only takes about a minute to do this.


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## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

I'd offer - it may well be depending on how deep your "deep shavings" are........ If'n deep enough then either would work. If'n not deep enough then the chickens are at risk of getting to what ever you use.........
Locally, one neighbor put down plastic to protect the flooring (that was cement); along with 6-8 inches of wood chips on top of that. Another with a wood floor just used about 12 inches of shavings and left it at that. Neither have had problems that they've mentioned....... although both clean out the coops about this time of year (Spring time) and replace everything.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Some roof coatings are Asphalt based, and never really dry hard.
I'd use linoleum, or an oil based enamel paint, although paint doesn't stick well to newer treated materials, due to the high moisture content

I also wouldn't worry too much about them eating it


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

I would get a cheap piece of vinyl flooring and cover the floor. Like a remnant or discontinued design, should be very cheap, easy to put down and last a loooong time. 

We had a popup camper we stripped down to a flatbed trailer. Vinyl flooring had been put on at the factory before anything else, so the whole bed was covered in vinyl. Cheap, builder grade vinyl. It lasted for years even out in the weather, kept the particle board deck from rotting, etc. It was a real eye-opener how durable it could be and how well it protected the wood.


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## AAcre (Mar 2, 2013)

I'd cover it with something like linoleum. You could either check for remnants, or maybe check Craigslist for some? Maybe some Peel-n-Stick linoleum tiles?


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

Use cooking oil worked OK for mine.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

As for the floor, I would not have created it out of wood. Instead, to protect the chickens, I would have concreted trenches under all the walls. Thus, I cannot speak well to what you might put over the floor you've built.

As for divisions, I can tell you what has worked well for us. Our chicken house is 6' x 16' with an added 10' x 16' divided pen. (The pen has plastic-coated small-holed wire over the top and the sides are created out of utility wire. All the rafters are sealed with 2 layers of baby chicken wire so *****/possums/snakes cannot get in.) The 6' x 16' house part is divided in half, giving us 8' x 6' on each side.

Each side has one roost running the length of it inside and one roost running the length of the pen outside under the hangover. The roosts were prepared this way because I have guineas in with my chickens and this gives them an option for roosting during bad winter weather...instead of taking shelter in my trees.

One side of the house has a 2x4 layed flat the entire length (8 ft) about 3 ft from the roost and up about 2 ft off the ground. This is the area I use as my brooder each year as I have electricity run to that area and hanging lights are easily set up there. The flat 2x4 not only helps my heavy breeds get up to the roost, it also serves as a brace for a treated piece of plywood that I can slide down in the grooves I've created for it; and this keeps any breeze off new hatchlings. This area (being about 3' x 8') also has a divider so I can have two brooders going at once if I need them.

The other 6' x 8' part of the chicken house has a 2x4 (flat & about 2 ft high) running only about half the length of that part of the house.

Now, one of the most important parts of my divisions is a 2 ft treated piece of wood I placed at the bottom between the two parts of this chicken house. There is a door I can close when the one side is being used as a brooder; but when not a brooder, this divider keeps the geese out while letting the chickens/guineas in so they can roost in both parts of the house. Also, this way, the geese cannot eat the chicken feed that I keep hanging from the rafters inside the brooder part of the house.

I have 3 doors: the inside one mentioned above, another at the end of the house (not far from my garden) and one at the pen on the brooder side. Thus, cleaning is convenient!

As for bedding, I use agricultural lime (3-4 inches deep) in both sides of the pen and barn bedding (usually straw) in both sides of the house. Oh and I also have a slanted roof on the non-brooding side just under the roosting area which keeps droppings off the nesting spots.

I let all fowl out every morning with a mixture of cracked & whole corn and a "chick chick chick" call that has trained them to come flying across 6 acres to me when I want them. And I lock them all up every night! (We store feed in metal 55 gal drums with lids.)


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## SueMc (Jan 10, 2010)

Thanks so much for all the answers! I'm going to look for linoleum. I like the idea of it especially if I can find some that is fairly smooth.


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

I used rubber roof (EPDM) , 
Most people call sheet vinyl linoleum, its not.
Two different animals.
But both will become brittle with age, and can curl if not glued.
The Rubber can be cut to size and lays down on is own, it also stays pliable.
The stuff I have came in 10' width, 9.99 a lineal foot or about 1 a sq foot.
You can get it up to 100' long. also available in different widths.
Made by Goodyear and carry's a 20 year warranty if protected from sun light.
Lowes or Home Depot should have it or similar in the garden center.

I like it because my coops are designed with pivoting roosts and the back opens, I just put up the roost, open the back, drag out the liner, dump the litter and the coops clean.


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## xbigp (Apr 9, 2011)

||Downhome|| said:


> I used rubber roof (EPDM) ,
> Most people call sheet vinyl linoleum, its not.
> Two different animals.
> But both will become brittle with age, and can curl if not glued.
> ...


 

this is exactly what i use, it works great. way better than vinyl/linoleum which will crack and peel over time. i lay this down and keep shavings 6-18 inches thick. once a year i clean it all out, and put down a fresh 6 inch layer of shavings. twice a year in between full cleanouts i add a light layer of sweet pdz and another 6 inches shavings on top of the existing. minimal, if any smells, even on those hot summer days

also if you have any buddies that are roofers, they can probably get ya some of this.


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## Dazlin (Nov 26, 2007)

I keep coops with dirt flooring only. I dig outer wire down 1 foot and under coop to keep predators out.  A posible problem whenever you put additinal flooring down is any critter will build a nice nest under there, and you will not know until it's out of control. With the dirt flooring, you will see any disturbance, and can address it as needed. I also like the easy clean-up...just rake it out, and replace fresh dirt when needed.


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