Is it possible to have a concrete floor in the chicken coop? What should the floor be like in the chicken coop and what is better to choose? Tools and materials

Many people, having received their own plot of land far from urban new buildings, enthusiastically begin to build not only greenhouses for their own vegetables, but also premises for breeding domestic chickens. And at first such owners experience huge amount construction questions. One of these important questions is what kind of flooring should be in these rooms, and if there are options, then which one is better suited to specific conditions.

Features and types

Ideally, the chicken coop should be built taking into account its heating during the cold season. For chickens to have good productivity, they need not only complete feed, but also good conditions content. The temperature in the room where they are kept should not fall below +10 degrees. If this temperature norm is not ensured, the bird begins to get sick from hypothermia, stops laying eggs and gaining weight. Pneumonia is one of the most common diseases among chickens, leading to the death of livestock, and in severe frosts their paws often freeze. This, of course, cannot be allowed.

Regardless of what the room is that is designated for keeping poultry, installing a floor in it is the owner’s first priority. The floor in the chicken coop must be equipped even before the planned number of laying hens is placed in it. Its reliability from the penetration of predators, moisture and cold from the outside - prerequisite successful management own poultry farming.

Most often, the following types of floors are installed in chicken coops:

• earthen, characterized by low costs and large disadvantages;
• concrete, which protects birds well from uninvited predators, but does not retain heat well;
• wooden, the most environmentally friendly, but also, unfortunately, the most fire hazardous.

Of all listed types The best flooring material is wood, and the most budget-friendly is soil (dirt floor). Concrete covering requires material costs not only for the work with concrete itself, but also for those activities that will be aimed at eliminating the main drawback of such floors - the rapid loss of heat in inclement summers and its complete absence in all remaining seasons. But we'll talk about all this a little later.

Choice of coverage

Every owner who decides to have laying hens on his farm is free to choose the flooring in the chicken coop based on his own considerations. But he cannot but take into account the unshakable requirements for floors in such premises, depending on the following factors:

• climatic zone of residence;
• depth of groundwater;
• soil type in the area;
• presence of predators.

For the too harsh climate of the regions of the North and Western Siberia, where winter frosts often reach -40 degrees Celsius, earthen or concrete floors are in no way suitable. On such floors without heating, the bird has no chance of surviving. Therefore, for the owner there are no other options for choosing a floor other than wood or concrete with mandatory heating of the room.

An earthen floor is also not suitable for those areas of residence where there are many predators, loose soil and close groundwater. During the rainy season, an earthen chicken coop in an area close to groundwater runs the risk of being flooded, and this state of affairs may only please waterfowl, to which the chicken has nothing to do. A wooden floor is also not suitable for a chicken coop in damp areas - in high humidity conditions it quickly rots and becomes covered with fungal growths.

The concrete covering protects the poultry house well from rodents and predators. And if a waterproofing layer is laid under the concrete (thick polyethylene film in several layers, roofing felt or roofing felt with bitumen filling), then neither soil moisture nor groundwater will penetrate into such a room. In the southern regions, such a floor is no less good for a poultry house, like a wooden one. But in wet areas it has all the advantages over other coatings.

In dry climate zones, the cheapest flooring option – earthen – is quite suitable. It costs little, but in loose soils it must be strengthened by laying and compacting a clay layer on top. Clay holds moisture well and creates a fairly dense top layer of coating. It is recommended not to install such floors in forested areas where large number an animal that loves to hunt both eggs and the birds themselves.

With all other conditions being equal or suitable, when choosing a flooring material for a chicken coop, you must be guided by the following requirements:

• safety (from water, fire, predators, diseases from cold or heat, traumatic factors);
• moisture resistance (does not rot, does not freeze, no fungus);
• strength (does not collapse, does not become limp, inaccessible to predators);
• low thermal conductivity (retains temperature well);
• environmental friendliness (does not harm poultry, does not emit harmful odors).

How to do it yourself?

The installation of the floor should be done after the walls of the poultry house have been erected. And since wooden and concrete floors require a foundation underneath, this circumstance must be taken into account before building a chicken coop. Of course, if the owner’s choice was made in favor of one of the named types of sex. If you plan to use a ready-made room for the chicken coop, then in this case the foundation will need to be built into it. It is possible to use the existing foundation under the room, but this is not always feasible. In addition, it is unknown what loads the old foundation was designed for, and whether it can be a reliable support for the entire building after alterations.

For a wooden floor, the foundation can be of a light type, for example, columnar or strip with shallow pouring. But it is preferable, for economic reasons, to build a columnar foundation for a structure such as a chicken coop. It is done by laying bricks on a solid foundation or by drilling (digging) narrow holes to a depth exceeding the freezing depth of the soil in the area. Dug or drilled holes are used as nests into which scraps of metal pipes with a diameter of about 200 mm can be inserted, and then their internal cavity can be filled with concrete. You will end up with reinforced concrete pillars on which wooden logs are laid around the perimeter and at the intersections of the chicken coop partitions.

If there are no pipes on the farm, then you can arrange a columnar formwork in the shape of a square measuring 200x200 mm in each hole using boards, and then also fill them with concrete. It is important that the foundation pillars are at the same horizontal height and rise 25-30 cm above the ground surface. This applies to both pipes and wooden formwork. If the pillars are made without pipes, then you need to remember to strengthen the concrete casting with metal reinforcement (or simple wire rods with a diameter of 5 or 6 mm). The pillars will provide a fairly strong foundation for subsequent construction, so it is enough to distribute them at a distance of 3 meters from each other along the entire perimeter, taking into account the supports opposite on the sides.

For very small buildings with a planned number of laying hens of up to 15-20, it will be enough to lay pillars of bricks in 3-4 rows (3 bricks in a row). It is advisable to pour a concrete base under each brick pillar with a small depth (10-15 cm) into the ground. Such poles are installed more often - approximately every meter. You can find other recommendations (every 50-60 cm), but this is too often for such a light structure.

• Support beams measuring 200x200 mm are laid parallel to the foundation pillars. A waterproofing material (roofing material, for example) is laid between the surface of the pillars and the beams. It is recommended to maintain a slight slope of the support beams on one side in order to facilitate the subsequent cleaning process of the room.
• Logs, which are bars measuring 100x100 mm, are laid on the support beams perpendicular to them in increments of 50 cm.
• The joists and support beams are fastened together using a hammer and long nails. For reliable fixation, you can use metal corners as fasteners. Adjust the level according to the horizontality of the log.

• Along the bottom of the logs over the entire area of ​​the chicken coop, you can attach a metal mesh, which will serve as the base of the structure. If there is a mesh, the space between the logs can be filled with insulation (mineral wool, for example, or expanded clay). The mesh will hold the insulation if it is additionally tensioned. But this operation can be omitted; it is not mandatory.
• Start laying the boards perpendicular to the joists. The boards must be of the same thickness - at least 25 mm. In addition, they are cut to such a length that the joint is in the center of the joist.
• Nail the boards to the joists at a slightly angle.
• When the floor is completely covered, it needs to be treated against dampness, and a little later - with lime mortar against pests.

For a concrete floor, it is better to make a strip foundation with a pouring depth of 30-40 cm. The height of the ridge above the ground is the same 25-30 cm as with a columnar foundation.

When the concrete has completely hardened, it can be used as a floor.

• Level the soil inside the foundation and compact it.
• Make a small layer of sand (2 cm).
• Cover with a 3-4 cm layer of crushed stone or large pebbles.
• Compact a layer of crushed stone and lay a waterproofing material on top of it (two-layer film, roofing felt, roofing felt) with the edges extending to the foundation.
• Fill the floor area with concrete from a mixture of cement and sand in a ratio of 1:4 with the addition of water until liquid.
• Smooth the pouring surface with a special wooden leveler and leave it for at least 7 days until the concrete has completely set.

The earthen floor is arranged as follows:

• the area is cleared of debris and vegetation and leveled;
• the soil is thoroughly compacted (for this purpose, you can make a homemade device based on a sawn wood block with a handle made of a wooden block nailed to it);
• pour and compact a layer of clay 10 cm thick on top;
• if desired, lay roofing felt in 2 layers or moisture-resistant non-slip linoleum.

How to properly insulate?

To insulate floors in a chicken coop, organic bedding material is often used: straw, hay, sawdust, moss. These litter components are used not only individually, but also in mixed form. For example, sawdust is never used for this purpose in pure form, a mandatory addition to them is wood shavings. In some frosty cases, peat or moss is added to them, and in addition this mixture is covered with straw.

An excellent material for insulating floors in chicken coops is peat moss. In addition to insulation, it is able to absorb unpleasant odors in the room and has antiseptic properties. Such moss, spread in the chicken coop in winter, saves the chickens' paws from freezing.

The bedding on the floor in the chicken coop sometimes reaches a thickness of 30 cm. Due to organic bedding, the temperature in the poultry housing is kept at 23-25 ​​degrees even on frosty days. In this case, no additional heating is required. The thing is that in such litter, under the influence of poultry droppings, processes of decomposition of organic substances occur, accompanied by an increase in temperature in this layer.

The main thing is to promptly replace the old bedding, which is losing its ability to save heat, with a fresh portion of organic matter, ready to “work” for heating the room. Typically, the litter is replaced with fresh litter once every 2 months. It should be noted that poultry experts do not recommend using mineral substances as insulation for poultry houses, for example, mineral wool or wall insulation made of chemical materials, capable of emitting unpleasant odors when heated.

Heating a chicken coop in winter- it's a troublesome matter. At subzero temperatures, the egg production of birds critically decreases, and the birds themselves get sick more often. How to avoid such troubles?

Chicken coop heating options

Previously, chickens were thrown into the attic in winter, placed in a warm barn, in the basement, or even in the house. Today, such measures are considered outdated; the issues of winter maintenance and heating of the chicken coop can be solved in modern ways. Namely, to automate the poultry care system. It should be noted that the well-known radiators, convectors, heat guns and potbelly stoves are quite dangerous methods of heating, because the chicken coop is full of dust, droppings and fluff. Infrared lamps explode quite often. It is not advisable to install a heating boiler or a brick oven, a boiler room, or a boiler room in such a room. How and with what else can you heat a chicken coop in winter?

Warm floors, namely infrared film, are confidently becoming a good help in farms. Its price has become very affordable, and the generosity of the product range allows you to choose the most suitable option for a variety of purposes. And installation of the film in cages for brood hens, flocks and any premises where fragile young animals and adult birds are kept is quite quick and easy. That is why infrared heating is loved by poultry farmers.

Ceiling floors

An infrared heated floor in a chicken coop is not really a floor. The film is mounted on a wall or ceiling, therefore, it is possible to prevent contact of the heating system with the bird. It warms up not the air, but the walls, floor, perches and the chickens themselves. And objects already give off heat into the air by convection. Therefore, the room is heated evenly, without dust swirls and oxygen combustion. The heated floor in the chicken coop is fireproof, it does not make noise, and its operation does not require constant monitoring. And also, infrared heating allows you to reduce air humidity, thereby ridding the chicken coop of fungus and mold. Thus, winter heating of the chicken coop with infrared film allows you to achieve the microclimate necessary for the healthy life of birds.

How to calculate and install

First you need to calculate the footage of the film. It is better to install it on the wall: mount the film so that the heat is directed to the nests and perches.

Let us give the calculation of the film for an unheated wooden room.

Input 1:

The size of the chicken coop is 10 sq.m, 3 external load-bearing walls (beams 100x100 insulated with mineral wool), wall height 2000 mm, window 500x500 mm, wooden frames, double, insulated door 600x1200 mm, earthen floor (bottom waterproofed with roofing felt). Region: Krasnoyarsk (winter temperatures -20 ... -35). The required room temperature in winter is -5 ... +5.

Calculation of a heated floor in a chicken coop for Krasnoyarsk

Based on the fact that minimum temperatures in the Krasnoyarsk Territory can reach -42°C, the total heat loss of this room will be about 0.65 kW. We sum up the heat loss of the front door - 250 W and the window - 100 W with the heat loss of the room, getting the total heat loss of 1000 W. To maintain the required temperature and compensate for heat loss, we calculate the heating power per cubic meter of room:

The total volume of the room (chicken coop) is 10 sq.m x 2 m = 20 cubic meters.

Required power per cubic meter 650 W / 20 cubic meters = 32.5 W/cu.m. Summing up the additional heat losses, we get 650 W + 250 W + 100 W = 1000 W - the total power of the required heating system.

Standard infrared film has a power of 0.22 kW/sq.m, therefore, for heating the room you will need 1000 W / 220 W/sq.m. = 4.55 sq. m of film.

Input 2:

Chicken coop size - 10 sq.m, 3 external load-bearing walls (100x50 timber insulated with mineral wool), wall height 2000 mm, window 500x500 mm, wooden frames, single, door 600x1200 mm, earthen floor (bottom waterproofed with roofing felt). Region: Moscow region (winter temperatures -8 ... -15). The required room temperature in winter is 0 ... +5.

Calculation of heated floors in a chicken coop for Moscow

Based on the fact that minimum temperatures in Moscow and the Domsk region can reach -30°C, and the room is not insulated enough, its total heat loss will be about 0.55 kW. We sum up the heat loss of the front door - 175 W and the window - 75 W with the heat loss of the room, getting a total heat loss of 800 W. To maintain the required temperature and compensate for heat loss, we calculate the heating power per cubic meter of room:

The total volume of the room (chicken coop) is 10 square meters. m x 2m = 20 cubic meters

Required power per cubic meter 550 W / 20 cubic meters = 27.5 W/cu.m. Summing up the additional heat loss, we get 550 W + 175 W + 75 W = 800 W - the total power of the required heating.

Standard infrared film has a power of 0.22 kW/sq.m, therefore, for heating the room you will need 800 W / 220 W/sq.m. = 3.64 sq. m.film.

Installation

The distance from the heating surface to the perches should be about a meter. In addition to the film itself, you will need double-sided tape, a mounting kit, a thermostat, a reflective backing and a couple of sheets of plywood. One sheet of plywood is needed to install a heating system in the chicken coop (the film is laid only on a flat surface), and the other is needed to prevent birds from pecking at the infrared film. A reflective substrate is required to prevent heat from escaping through the walls to the street. And the thermostat is for regulating the operation of the film and saving energy. Thermal sensors record the temperature in the chicken coop, as well as the temperature of the heated film and, depending on the set program, the heated floor in the chicken coop turns on and off independently. Thus, smart electronics It monitors the temperature in the room itself. The chickens are happy.

The design itself looks like this:

Using self-tapping screws, we attach a sheet of plywood to the wall, to which we then attach a reflective backing with double-sided tape. We fix the structure with planks. Then we prepare the infrared film for installation. To do this, we attach clamps for supplying electricity to the current-carrying busbars of the film, crimp the clamps with the supply wires of the power cable and insulate them at the fastening site with a bitumen gasket. Then, using the same bitumen gasket, we attach thermal sensors to the surface of the film and insulate them. Thermal sensors should not be superimposed on the radiating element; it is attached between the emitter strips on the surface of the film. On next stage We attach the ready-to-use infrared film to the wall of the chicken coop. First, we cut out a window in the reflective film - in the place where the fragment of the film with the temperature sensor will be located. Using double-sided tape, attach the film to the substrate, tire side up. Using regular tape, we fix the wires on the substrate, cover the entire structure with a sheet of plywood on top (to prevent birds from pecking at the film) and fix the plywood with self-tapping screws. When installing an infrared heated floor in a chicken coop, you must be careful not to get the screws into the contact bars and radiating elements. To do this, we outline the outline of the fastenings with self-tapping screws on the plywood. We place the thermostat in an area inaccessible to birds and cover the suitable signal and power cables with corrugated pipes. That's all the chicken coop is ready for winter.

Which film to choose

The scope of infrared film is expanding every year, new generations are being produced, suitable for the most unexpected solutions. Almost any film can be attached to walls and ceilings. Vertical, horizontal, local. All that remains is to choose a manufacturer you trust. And take into account some features: for example, if you have a very humid room, choose a film with a moisture-proof coating. Practice shows that for an ideal result it is not necessary to buy the most expensive and “promoted” infrared film. In our case, we can be content with the cheapest South Korean film (Lavita LH, RexVa Xica, Q-Term), it is fully justified in its work.

In this article we'll talk about the floor covering in the chicken coop from various building materials. Which floor is best suited for such a structure and its characteristic features.

Different types of floors in a chicken coop and their installation

There are many materials for covering the floor surface. When choosing what type of floor is needed in a poultry building, you must take into account its cost. The quality of the coating largely determines the dryness and cleanliness of the chicken room.

The most common material for these purposes is softwood boards. This floor is very warm and convenient when the owner cleans the room. And it can also be made of concrete and this material is strong and durable.

Sometimes, due to lack of funds by the owner, the floor may be earthen. To do this, the soil in the room is thoroughly leveled with a shovel and compacted. Straw mats or sawdust are laid on top of such a floor. The bird likes the dirt floor quite well because it picks up grains from the ground. The dirt floor allows the chickens to bathe in it and this helps the bird clean its feathers. Do not allow the dirt floor in the chicken coop to freeze, which can lead to the death of the birds.

When laying a concrete floor screed in a poultry room, the ground must first be leveled and thoroughly compacted. Be sure to lay a layer of gravel and lay the mesh on it. Fill the top with a liquid concrete mixture. We carefully compact the concrete mixture, avoiding the formation of voids. The surface of such a floor must be kept for three days, gradually wetting the floor with water. It is advisable to darken the floor screed and constantly moisten it to help prevent cracks.

Wooden panels can be laid on the hardened floor. This panel floor is very convenient to use and clean the room where poultry is kept. Straw, sawdust or grass hay is placed on top of the shields. Thanks to this floor design, the birds in the chicken coop are clean and warm. This design of the panel floor allows it to be disassembled and assembled in a matter of hours. The concrete surface can be washed regularly with water and dried thoroughly.

The advantage of a wooden floor over a concrete floor

The main aspect when choosing a flooring made of wooden planks is its practicality and ease of cleaning this room. Wooden flooring can withstand high humidity or spilled water from a bird bath. Laying such a floor is done with coniferous boards end-to-end without visible gaps. On such a floor covering, it is enough to sweep up all the rubbish with a broom and the room will be perfectly clean. If desired, you can lay a layer of hay or straw on top, this is especially important in winter period.

The main advantage of a concrete floor base is its strength, and it can withstand high loads. Almost any material made from sawdust or chopped straw can be laid on such a floor. In this floor, you can install a sewerage outlet into the septic tank for its sedimentation. If cracks appear on the surface of the screed, they can easily be repaired with cement mortar and floated. But such a base can also be covered with floor tiles for utility rooms, and the seams can be sealed with grout.

What criteria are used when choosing a floor for a chicken coop?

The base of the floor surface made of earth has a number of positive aspects. Firstly, this is the ease of performing such work and its low cost. And also naturalness is a coating that is beneficial and affects the health of chickens. An important factor is that such a floor does not rot or collapse. All you have to do is change the bedding of straw or sawdust and the floor is clean. Many people believe that this type of sex has a beneficial effect on the condition of the bird and promotes egg production.

A tiled floor is a good option; the surface does not have to be smooth. These tiles are made for utility rooms and are resistant to abrasion. This material is not afraid of impacts or scratches from various tools. Of course, it is not cheap, but its use will last quite a long time. Typically, such tiles are placed on a special glue level. After two days you can safely walk on this surface. Such a floor can be washed regularly with a stream of water without fear of its destruction.

Wooden flooring has a number of advantages over other types of coverings. This flooring is most common in bird house construction. This flooring has good heat capacity and retains heat in the room. First, we lay thick beams; this procedure is carried out according to the level. Be sure to lay the beams evenly and not wobble, providing a solid foundation. We lay and nail boards on top of them, preferably larch or pine. We fasten the boards end-to-end without creating gaps, using metal clamps.

To prevent the boards from splitting, drill a hole with an electric drill and drive in nails. The floor surface should not have distortions or protruding nails. If necessary, the floor can be treated with an antiseptic to prevent the destruction of the wood. This composition is applied in three layers with mandatory drying. An antiseptic is needed to protect wood from beetles and various bark beetles. The main danger of such a coating is dampness and wetting of the wood, so it is necessary to ventilate.

You can use clean river sand as the floor in the chicken room. Usually the surface of the earth is pre-prepared. The area is carefully leveled and compacted until a smooth surface is formed. Sand is delivered to trucks or a tractor using a trolley. We sift this sand and dry it until it becomes flowable. Place a layer of sand on the floor surface and compact it thoroughly.

This floor is very practical and does not require constant cleaning of the room. The bird loves to peck sand because of the shells it contains. The shells contained in river sand are very useful for birds and provide them with all the microelements and vitamins. If the sand floor becomes dirty, simply replace it with a new and clean one. Sand is a material that absorbs water spilled from drinking bowls well. And also birds kept on such a surface are always clean and healthy.

A high-quality floor in a chicken coop is the key to the health of the birds. The egg production of birds, the quality of eggs and the strength of the shell depend on this. Each floor covering has its own advantages and characteristic features. Of course, the ideal and most correct option for making a floor in a chicken coop is made of larch. Flooring on an earthen base is the simplest and most logical. Cleaning poultry feathers with soil prevents the spread of various chicken diseases.

A concrete floor does not require constant cleaning and leveling of its surface. And the use of wooden panels makes it easier for the owner to clean the chicken coop. The concrete base is quite cold and damp, but the use of bedding in the form of wheat straw, cutting and sawdust. This coating is quite strong and durable and does not require constant cleaning of the floor.

The conclusion can be drawn as follows: the floors and bedding for the chicken coop may be different, but its use is necessary to create a favorable microclimate in the room.

Video Floor in the chicken coop

Video HOW TO MAKE A WARM FLOOR IN A POULTRY HOUSE

Every owner who wants to have chickens thinks about how to arrange a chicken coop for the comfortable living of these birds, because the living conditions affect the productivity of chickens. And the first thing to do is the floor in the chicken coop. If you want to make it yourself, then here you will read the necessary information about what the floor should be, what materials are recommended for use, and so on.

Foundation

An important element for proper floor installation is a good foundation. It must be of high quality, capable of protecting chickens (after all, predatory animals constantly encroach on the lives of these birds), and, most importantly, durable, which will help your building last for many years. It’s easy to pour the foundation for a chicken coop with your own hands; concrete is most often used for this. But if the material is not at hand, it is replaced with iron sheets. Next we will tell you how to do this.

What should the floor be?

Sex is an element that will provide chickens with protection from predators and bad weather conditions. The floor affects the temperature in the poultry house and the sanitary conditions of the room, so its correct arrangement will improve the living conditions of the chickens and help provide warmth in the poultry house during winter frosts or keep it cool in the summer heat.

“What should the gender be?” - This question is often asked by people who build a chicken coop on their own. We answer the question: the ideal position of the floor in the poultry house is slightly inclined, preferably with a drainage system. This will help you quickly remove accumulated dirt and debris in the future. To lay the floor, it is better to take wooden boards, and since the floor must be durable, use wooden logs as a base.

It is important not only to use the correct laying technique, but also to select good materials in order to make a high-quality and warm floor in the chicken coop. There are three main flooring options: earthen, concrete, wood. But there are many differences between them, from the time spent on installation to the cost of materials (if you do it yourself). Which floor is better, what are the disadvantages and advantages of each option - we will consider all this further.

Clay flooring can be used to reinforce the earthen floor

Construction of an earthen floor

Dirt flooring is a simple and economical option, usually used by farmers. But the design of such a floor does not allow maintaining a high temperature for a long time in the winter cold. As a means of protection, this option is also inferior to the other two, since predators and pests can easily enter the chicken coop through the earthen floor.

In addition, the cleanliness of the room will also not be long-lasting: the soil will mix with water, chicken droppings, and food, forming dirt. Clay flooring can be an excellent reinforcement for an earthen floor. This option is the cheapest in terms of cost.

Concrete floor installation

Concrete flooring is the most used method because you don't need any special skills to build it yourself. The advantage of this option is good protection, since concrete will not allow predators to get inside.

Concrete floor insulated with expanded clay

But the concrete floor is very cold, so its installation will require insulation to maintain the temperature. What should the bedding layer be made of? Most often, synthetic and natural materials are used for this. If you are in doubt which floor is best to make, then read again the advantages of pouring concrete:

• resistance to concrete when exposed to acid and water;
• the substance is not capable of burning;
• good protection against predatory animals and various pests;
• the durability of the concrete itself (even if you do the pouring yourself, if done correctly, a concrete floor can last you up to 20 years, and this is much longer than any of the other proposed materials).

Wooden floor installation

What gender could it be? the best option for the chicken coop? It's wooden. Since wood will retain heat, there is no need for underlayment on a wooden floor. This material is environmentally friendly, and the installation of the floor is as simple as making it yourself.

But this option also has disadvantages. A wooden floor requires careful care, as it is often subject to decay processes, various fungi, and so on. The second significant disadvantage is the flammability of the material itself, which will cause great damage in a fire. What should the protective layer be made of? wooden surface? Protection against multiplying microorganisms should be made of lime by simply lubricating the floor surface.

A wooden floor may be the best option for a chicken coop.

What is another advantage of wooden floors? Compared to other options, floor boards can be replaced with others, they can be supplemented or insulated, and all this can really be done with your own hands. In addition, the boards can be easily set at a certain angle (as mentioned earlier, for quickly cleaning the chicken coop from dirt). The boards do not freeze in the winter cold, which is also an advantage. In summer, the underlay layer for wooden floors should be seven centimeters, in winter – ten.

How to lay the floor?

If you have decided which floor you need to make, then you can get to work. Significant factor is that you can pour the foundation and build the floor with your own hands, so you only have to spend money on materials. Recommended material is wooden boards.

First, make a foundation (if you don’t have one). It’s up to you to decide whether to make a columnar or strip foundation. It is better to use the first option - columnar, in this case the flooring surface will be located on a slight elevation, which is why the wood will last you much longer, since it will be protected from water and will help maintain the temperature in the chicken coop.

Tools

We will look at the process of laying a wooden floor. In order to make a floor with your own hands, you need to have with you:

• boards (thickness - twenty-five centimeters);
• beams (section 100 x 100 mm);
• nails;
• cement;
• saw;
• hammer;
• brick.

Instructions

As already mentioned, if the poultry house does not have a foundation, then one should be made. What should the foundation be? The device should be as follows: a brick of the cabinet (height - twenty centimeters) is laid every fifty centimeters (if a concrete floor was previously made, then a foundation is no longer required).

To build a covering with your own hands, you need to lay logs made of timber parallel to the brick cabinets you made. Do not forget that there should be an angle of inclination, which will help you in the future when cleaning.

Sometimes insulation is placed between the joists; it can be expanded clay, but this is not necessary. The boards are laid perpendicular to the logs. They need to be cut so that the joint falls in the middle of the joist itself. To nail the boards, each joist will require only two nails. Do not forget to follow their direction: the boards should butt together, forming a slight angle.

The boards are laid perpendicular to the logs

How to insulate the floor?

Litters are divided into two types: deep and shallow. Deep bedding layers are recommended for use since they contain an organic layer in which biochemical processes are carried out. This helps, even in severe winter frosts, to maintain the temperature in the chicken coop to twenty-five degrees, and additional insulation with such bedding is not required.

The underlying surfaces can be made of different materials. Organic components such as sawdust, hay, straw, moss, peat, and so on are used as bedding. Such natural ingredients are still popular today because they are environmentally friendly.

The best natural component for insulation is moss or peat moss, which is why it is often used in saunas and steam rooms. This plant also perfectly absorbs bird droppings, which eliminates the odor and helps dry the birds’ paws, saving them from the cold. Bedding made from sawdust does not cake, while bedding made from straw retains heat for a long time. A common option for bedding is sawdust mixed with shavings (1:3). Peat is added to this bedding option, and the whole thing is covered with straw on top.

Peat moss, sawdust, hay, and straw are excellent for bedding.

Regarding the required depth of the bedding layer, it should be at least ten centimeters, ideally twenty. If necessary, you can add another ten centimeters of material to the litter. Modern materials for insulation are not quite suitable for the conditions of a chicken coop: droppings will quickly be absorbed into the litter, which will soon destroy the material.

In addition, there will be problems cleaning the chicken coop with the onset of spring. This is a significant advantage of organic materials: after winter they are collected and thrown away, replaced by others.

You can easily make a floor in a chicken coop with your own hands: you just need to put in the effort and also find out what materials are best to use so that the floor will serve you for many years. It is recommended to use wooden boards for laying the floor: they are heat resistant compared to other materials. The top is covered with lime, and then a bedding is made (this is at the discretion of the owner, since a wooden floor, in principle, does not require insulation).

If you do everything correctly, then both in winter and summer the chickens will be comfortable in the house, which will affect the egg production of the birds.

Chickens are unpretentious to food and living conditions, so they are kept in almost every household.

However, to achieve maximum productivity, chickens need to create the most comfortable conditions. This is especially true for keeping poultry in the cold season.

To ensure that the egg production of laying hens does not decrease during the winter, and that broilers gain weight faster, it is important not only to take care of a balanced diet for the wards, but also to ensure the optimal temperature in the chicken coop - 15-20 degrees.

Particular attention should be paid to floors, since freezing of the base can lead to illness in chickens.

The floor in the poultry house comes in three types: earthen, concrete and wood.

• The concrete floor protects the chicken coop residents from the invasion of rats, foxes and other predators that can dig into the ground, and also makes life difficult for rodents. As for heat conservation issues, you should not expect any heat from the concrete base.

This type of floor requires a thick layer of warm underlayment to maintain the room temperature. For this reason, floors in private chicken coops are very rarely concreted.

• Wood flooring considered a good option for a poultry house. This environmentally friendly material has good thermal insulation properties, so it will require a minimum of bedding.

However, a wooden floor also has its drawbacks: under aggressive influence chicken manure Wood is subject to natural decay processes. Simply put, the decking will rot and will require resurfacing within a few years. Treating the boards with an antiseptic will help extend the life of wooden flooring.

• The most practical and affordable option is regular earthen floor with deep, permanent litter, which by spring turns into valuable compost for fertilizing beds.

Installing such a floor will not require large financial costs and will not take much time.

1. First, the base of the poultry house is covered with slaked lime (one kilogram per square meter) - this will prevent the proliferation of fleas and ticks.
2. Sprinkle straw, sawdust, peat moss or other heat-insulating material on top in a layer of 5-8 centimeters.
3. As the litter in the chicken coop tramples, new material will need to be added to the floor, periodically loosening the litter to its full depth with a rake or fork.
4. Loosening allows you to reduce the moisture content of the litter and ensure uniform composting.

Thanks to natural decomposition processes, heat will be released from the litter (in the depths of the layer the temperature often reaches 25 degrees), warming up the chicken coop.

An acidic environment will delay putrefactive processes, disinfecting pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms. To avoid the accumulation of ammonia emissions, the poultry house should be equipped with good ventilation.

It is necessary to prepare material for bedding in the summer (it can be stored under the roof of the same chicken coop), but you should not overdry the “insulation” too much, as this leads to a slowdown in its biological activity.

Use modern thermal insulation materials (penofol, mineral wool, expanded polystyrene, etc.) for insulating the floor in a chicken coop not recommended.

The best insulation is sawdust, straw and peat moss. Initially, the material is laid in a layer of several centimeters and added as the floor becomes dirty.

Peat moss is an ideal material for insulating the floor of a poultry house. It has amazing absorbency and perfectly eliminates unpleasant odors.

It is better to use sawdust from coniferous wood - they have disinfectant properties, at the same time they absorb moisture well and do not cake. Chopped straw or dried grass also has good thermal insulation properties.

Very often, household owners in winter are faced with the problem of condensation in the chicken coop. The cause of dampness in most cases is the lack of a ventilation system. Installing the simplest natural (or forced) air circulation system in the poultry house helps get rid of wet floors and walls.

Ventilation allows you to solve a number of problems:

• eliminates excess humidity in the room;
• eliminates unpleasant odor;
• removes ammonia and hydrogen sulfide vapors from the chicken coop;
• in summer, ventilation prevents overheating of the room.

In a small chicken coop, it is enough to make a small window (window) under the ceiling to allow ventilation if necessary. It should be located away from perches so that drafts do not harm the birds.

VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS

Is it worth installing a heated floor in a poultry house?

Modern technologies and materials allow you to install a heated floor system in any room, including a chicken coop. This heating method has many advantages: it is fireproof, ensures uniform heating of the room, and does not burn oxygen.

In a poultry house equipped with heated floors, it is always warm, dry and comfortable; chickens lay eggs better and are less exposed to infectious diseases.

VIDEO REVIEW

Is it worth making a heated floor in a chicken coop or can we limit ourselves to permanent litter? The answer is obvious - it all depends solely on financial opportunities. As practice shows, chickens feel quite comfortable in simple poultry houses with a traditional earthen floor.