# Coop Floor



## jcamaro (Apr 16, 2016)

I àm new to all this and am planning on building a coop. I hàve read to put wire down about a inch and then bend it outwàrd to make it harder for anything to try and get underneath. My question is can I just wrap the wire under the whole floor and come up the other side? If I can what should I put on the wire to make it easy on the chickens feet?


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Hi and welcome to the forum, jcamaro!
My question is if your coop is going to be built in the ground or raised off the ground. That will make a difference. 
My coop is built directly on the ground . My hubby dug a footing around the perimeter of the coop and run and put large rocks in it then covered it before he built the coop. Only in the run area did 
he extend the wiring out several inches and cover it with dirt. There have been a few attempts by predators to dig in, but they gave up. If you do something similar to this the wiring on the floor isn't necessary. 
If you are building it off the ground some of the other members can give you ideas.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Hi and welcome! I have one pen that I also wired the floor in with hardware cloth. Nothing gets in! If the chickens sleep on a roost and get out of the coop during the day, I wouldn't worry so much about them standing on it. You are talking about hardware cloth, right?


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## jcamaro (Apr 16, 2016)

Thank you both for your quick reply. I have not built it yet and can do it either way on the floor or off. Could use you pro and con on both. I would like something I can stand in also. flock mama I see you live in springhill I do also so you know what type of weather and pest we have in the area. Would you guys suggest building my own or buying a kit? Also from the time I buy chicks how long until I put them in a coop or should I just keep them in a large tuberware 2'by3' by 2' high. I am lost about all this can I just let them stay in the coop or roam the yard? I have a lot behind me that I own where I would set the coop up but then there is a busy road behind that. Can one of you may be suggest something I can read about what I need to do? Thanks again


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

jcamaro, I think as far as the coop up or down may be a personal preference , climate in your area, room and space. If your are in the same area as Sem then she and Dawg will be good go to chicken peeps. Your new chicks won't be able to be in the tupperware tub very long. I used an appliance box cut down enough for my 5'5" self could lean into. My hubs made a chicken wire frame top for it to protect them from outside critters. They need to stay in the for around 3-6 weeks when then you can take them out for short daytime excursions in a protected area. Our coop is made from sheet iron that was given to us. It's about 10 x 10 ft l think. Here's a picture. You can see that we enjoy our chickens


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

No plastic coops in Florida!

The coop that works the best for me are 8 x 8 or 16x16 foot pens that are covered with a tarp and built with hardware cloth. (The wire with the little squares. Hang a roost, and you can put a rubbermaid tub on it's side with something low for the front like a piece of wood, and put shavings in there for laying. 2 of my pens have dog houses for laying. I don't worry about the cold. Just the heat and try to give them all a breeze and shade.

If your pen is big enough, they can be kept in, but for free ranging, I would fence some of your yard in.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

It would be best to build your coop up off the ground. You'll be glad you did when you get flooding rains. Put sand in the pen unless your soil is sand already.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Put your coop a foot or more high off the ground.I put mine up about 6" and had a rat problem.I moved it and put it up high enough to see under and put poison under there.I cannot deal with rodents.True story-Coming home one day I saw what appeared to be a saint bernard crossing the road.When I got closer I realized it was a black bear!It had a pink collar on it so I assumed it was somebody's pet.(NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING!!!)So I pulled over,got out and went after it.I ran after it and it ran from me.I chased it about 1/2 mile then it ran into weeds and poison ivy(I'm very allergic)so I stopped bc I was in shorts and flip=flops.Turns out it lost it's baby and had tracking collar and was from W.Virginia being tracked


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Boy, that's an interesting story! 
I keep rats away with covering all the food every night and none left on the ground.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Yeah,I learned that lesson the hard way last year.The rats that moved in under my coop were not afraid of me.Sure,they ran when they saw me coming but once I got close to it they poked their heads out inches from my feet.I CAN NOT STAND RODENTS!!! I'm not afraid of anything else but a rodent will get me screaming and running.I sat on deck and shot at them with a .22 rifle.Got 2 BIG ones and poisoned the rest.Now the food is back in the front yard away from the coop and we raised the coop up several more inches to make it a little less hospitable and am able to put poison under there.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

My coop/shed is almost a foot off the ground and that's where they go. I have 1/2 of the sides wired. I need to do 2 more sides. I would get a few bait stations if I were you. I have 3. I check on the cubes periodically. Sometimes I smear peanut butter on them. That's the best maintenance I've had. I just buy a tub of cubes every year. I don't run out every year, but I think the strength deteriorates over time.


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