Arkansas folks speak up.........

[Chicky Tocks]

If you're working on the interior of the coop, myself I would prefer an elevated floor with linoleum covering the actual floor. Then I would go with pine shavings on top of that about 4 inches deep. At least this is the way my coop is designed. The reason being is that there is less of a chance for a predator to dig it's way in.

My run is dirt...after the chickens ate all of the grass anyway. I put in about four bags of playground sand and on top of that I tossed in the pine needles that I raked up. These with the sand work wonders to help me to keep the floor of the run from getting muddy.

Here's a pic of the inside of our coop. This was before we split it up into two separate roosting areas and put in the roosts. Also, we don't yet have nest boxes in there because the only hens laying at the moment have exterior next boxes in their run.

 

[Rooster Cogburn Jr.]

mine is elevated. Keeps rodents from living under it and also provides shade on these 100 degree days

 

[FarmGirl01]

Got my first eggs from my Cuckoo Marans yesterday. It was lighter than any bown egg.

Thats what I was expecting out of low quality stock. I really don't mind. I like them anyway. Can't wait to see the color of the others. They might change a little.

 

[Jarhead]

I get the totally get the elevated thing, for lots of bird, or in an area where there are lots of predators. I think the size of the coop, number of birds, and where the coop is located makes a difference in what you choose.

For example:
We only have 9 birds total. Our yard for the chickens is a true backyard. We are in the city, with an 8' privacy fence around the entire backyard. My wife wanted the building to be a cute little house that blends in with the rest of the yard and garden. We have no predators to speak of, our neighbors cats won't climb the fence because they are scared of our dogs. Never seen anything else other than hawks and snakes, not to say they are not there though. We have never lost a chicken due to a predator, at least not yet - so that is not a big concern for us. There is plenty of shade for the birds to stay cool in the heat from plants and trees. Our birds are only in the coop when it is dark, they free range at will from sun up to sun down, only time they get in the coop during the day is to lay an egg or get out of really heavy rain. So basically the coop is a sleeping place for them. The dirt floor and deep litter method with DE keeps the smell and flies to pretty much zero. We don't have to clean it often (maybe twice a year) and and when we do we have nutrient rich compost to put in the garden and potted plants. It works great for us and fits the bill perfectly for our situation.

So my point is really this - anyone who is making a decision on a coop needs to evaluate all the factors of their land, how many birds they have, the predator situation, what you want the coop to look like, what your goals are, etc. That way you can make a decision on what will fit your needs best.

Here is a pic of our coop

 

[Jarhead]

Got my first eggs from my Cuckoo Marans yesterday. It was lighter than any bown egg.sad Thats what I was expecting out of low quality stock. I really don't mind. I like them anyway. Can't wait to see the color of the others. They might change a little.

That's too bad

We had a couple of Maran hens from MPC and the eggs were darker than any of our other brown eggs, but not as dark as some of the pics I have seen of Maran eggs here on BYC.​

 

[insiderart]

Scot that is so stinkin' cute!

 

[Jarhead]

Thanks, she had the ideas - I made them a reality... well more or less

She loves the way it looks anyway. We have had it for about a year and a half now and it is great.

 

[Chicky Tocks]

oh jar that is precious! I would love to have your setup. I agree one hundred percent with you. Where you live has a huge impact on how you build your coop. For us, we're on 3 acres of cleared land and our other 4 acres that surround us are deeply wooded. Lot's of predators living in there...and we don't have the fence to keep the stray dogs out either. Once we had a stray pit come onto our property and bite our little weiner dog on the back requiring several stitches, so the digging of stray dogs is a concern for us.

Our coop is not truly elevated, it just has a plywood floor which is covered with linoleum and then lots of pine chips on top of that. And our runs have a 10 inch trench dug around them with broken bricks buried and packed in the trench. Hopefully it will never be tested.

 

[Jarhead]

And our runs have a 10 inch trench dug around them with broken bricks buried and packed in the trench. Hopefully it will never be tested.

I hope not either, but I bet if they tried they would break some nails. I would have shot that pit who bit the dog, even after the fact.​

 

[juliechick]

That coop is adorable!