The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Old_chapel_apple_juice on March 30, 2015, 10:12:27 pm

Title: Chicken house floor
Post by: Old_chapel_apple_juice on March 30, 2015, 10:12:27 pm

Hi guys new to this
I've build a chicken house with fence posts in the ground and pallets with a felt lined ply roof
10ft x 6ft and 5ft high
It's in our orchard on a slope
This ground is still exposed grass (now mainly wet mud)
Really looking for some advise on what to put on the floor to ease cleaning and keeping it dry
Was thinking about digging it slightly and putting a wood frame and Lino but would like the cheapest option possible
Anyone have any ideas ??

Title: Re: Chicken house floor
Post by: Izzy on March 31, 2015, 06:33:46 pm

If you want it to be fox proof you might have to lay concrete slabs.

Title: Re: Chicken house floor
Post by: doganjo on March 31, 2015, 08:36:44 pm

And you'll still get rats in even then - down the sides between the pallets.

Title: Re: Chicken house floor
Post by: HesterF on March 31, 2015, 10:45:39 pm

Can't picture it really but I'd have thought a combination of lino on the floor and a felted roof would give you a red mite fest. Mine are all wood so a wood floor covered with bedding copes well enough. Raising it off the ground to allow air underneath helps preserve the wood. Some of mine are stood on pallets - with happy rats living underneath the pallets. Grrrr.

Title: Re: Chicken house floor
Post by: Caroline1 on April 01, 2015, 10:40:55 pm

Mine has a raised wooden floor which works well and easy enough to clean out.

Title: Re: Chicken house floor
Post by: welsh_cob on April 06, 2015, 08:36:23 am

Hi Old_Chapel, agree with HesterF I put shavings down under the perches, far easier to clean and avoids the coop stinking out quickly! Have you got any pictures?

Title: Re: Chicken house floor
Post by: Bramblecot on April 06, 2015, 10:42:26 am

We always buy chicken food in paper sacks, then use the sacks on the  :chook: house floor and cover with wood shavings.  It is easy to pull out the sacks for cleaning and it all goes onto the compost heaps.  The rats will come if you have chickens; having a moveable house is a good option, and keeping a good ratting  :dog: or  :cat: .

Title: Re: Chicken house floor
Post by: clydesdaleclopper on April 06, 2015, 05:32:18 pm

Put down some small weld mesh to keep out the rats then just deep litter them on the earth.

Title: Re: Chicken house floor
Post by: Old_chapel_apple_juice on April 21, 2015, 10:55:31 am

Going to attack it today with some pallets with closed together boards
I'm not too fussed about foxes as I have never really seen much
And the dogs scent keep them away also I have firearms and go out checking regularly same with rats
I'll put some photos up later

Title: Re: Chicken house floor
Post by: devonlad on April 21, 2015, 02:48:32 pm

We have a wood floor which we cover with flattened cardboard boxes. At cleaning time we just roll it up and job's a goodun. All the neighbours give us there old boxes and we've always got a good stock

Title: Re: Chicken house floor
Post by: Carey boy on April 21, 2015, 04:53:56 pm

My advice would be

Always have an air gap between the ground and the floor of the pen and always make the pen moveable. You will not be able to stop the RATS if not.

Good lusk