Does your chicken coop need to be off the ground?
Have you ever noticed that many chicken coops are built elevated off the ground? Whether they’re commercial or hand-built, chicken coops raised off the ground are popular options.
When you’re building or buying your first coop, you may find yourself asking if this is really necessary. You want to know whether or not you should follow this trend, so that you can make sure that you design your coop to keep your chickens as healthy and happy as possible.
So, does a chicken coop need to be off the ground? Not all chicken coops need to be off the ground, but there are many benefits to having an elevated coop, including the prevention of high moisture in the coop (particularly in areas with run-off or flooding), protection from burrowing predators and rodents, extension of the size of the run, and shelter in the run from inclement weather, sun, and aerial predators.
In this article, you will learn:
This post contains affiliate links for my favorite products from Amazon and Rita Marie’s Chicken Coops. As an Amazon and Rita Marie’s Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
How do you know if your chicken coop should be off the ground?
Most chicken coops should be off the ground, at least a little bit.
These are the exceptions:
Your chicken coop doesn’t have a floor at all—see my article, Does your chicken coop need a floor?
Your chicken coop has a concrete floor—see my article, 8 chicken coop floor options: The best flooring materials
You’re willing to predator-proof and rodent-proof your floor, and you don’t mind having to replace it when it rots from high moisture
The 15 benefits to raising a chicken coop off the ground
Chicken coops built on legs, such as the one pictured at the top of this article, are popular for good reason. Below are 15 advantages to having a chicken coop off the ground.
Benefit #1: Protection from burrowing predators and snakes
If your chicken coop doesn’t have a floor, or if its floors are weak or rotted, burrowing predators can be a major problem. Elevated coops can eliminate these problems. (For other ideas on how to prevent predation in coops without floors, see my article, Does your chicken coop need a floor?)
Additionally, if you have any small holes or gaps in your coop, snakes can be a major problem in some areas. Snakes can fit through very small openings that you may have a hard time even noticing. Some may kill your chickens, particularly if you have chicks or bantams. Others will eat your chickens’ eggs.
Many chicken keepers who live in areas with large snake populations have built their coops off the ground to prevent these problems.
Benefit #2: Protection from burrowing rodents
Burrowing rodents, such as mice, rats, and voles, love to get into chicken coops. Chicken coops may provide them with protection and possibly food (if you feed your chickens inside). Large rodents, such as rats, have been known to eat eggs and chicks. Rodents may also transmit diseases.
Burrowing rodents are one of the biggest disadvantages to having a coop with no floor, and even some coops with floors will have rodent infestations. If your coop is built on the ground, and it has any tiny holes or gaps anywhere, rodents will get in.
Even worse, many anecdotes abound in which rats have actually gotten underneath chicken coops on the ground and chewed their way through the floor in order to get into the coop. One chicken keeper told her story this way:
“Had that problem once. Wooden floor, coop on the ground. Rats moved in underneath, chewed through the floor and stole eggs and ate feed all winter.”
She continued that she didn’t know this was happening until she did a thorough coop cleaning the following spring, saying:
“The little buggers were popping their heads up in the holes watching me! I looked down one of the holes and it was just crawling with rats under there.”
After this experience, she elevated her chicken coop off the ground.
Benefit #3: Rodents can’t nest underneath the chicken coop floor
Even if rodents don’t get into your coop on the ground, they may nest underneath it. If there is a very small amount of space under your coop floor, which is very common with coops built on the ground, rodents will be able to get in there. They love the safety of the dark and protected space.
One chicken keeper tells a harrowing tale of having to raise his coop off the ground after a bad experience with rats nesting underneath. He said:
“The reason that we raised it is to discourage rats from living under it. That was a problem when it was dark and shedded under there. They then came up through the floor and last week they started killing birds.”
If your coop is built on legs, there will be too much space underneath it for rats to build their nests. Any rodents under a raised coop will be too exposed to get comfortable.
Benefit #4: Your floor and coop will have lower moisture levels
Moisture can be a major problem in some chicken coops that are built on the ground, including both coops with and without floors.
If you live in an area with runoff, seasonal floods, or even just clay soil that doesn’t drain well (like I do), then you may have a problem with moisture in your chicken coop if it’s built on the ground.
If your chicken coop floor comes into contact with a lot of moisture, the floor can degrade quickly. Wooden floors will rot if they stay wet for too long. Dangerous molds and other pathogens may thrive.
Even if you don’t have a floor, if moisture comes from the ground into your bedding or coop, you may have a problem with dangerous bacteria or mold.
Additionally, moist coops will greatly increase the risk of frostbite in your chickens during the cold months. And if your chickens’ feathers get moist, your birds will have a hard time staying warm. This is especially dangerous for feather-footed breeds as they can easily lose their legs to frostbite if they get their leg feathers damp.
If, on the other hand, you have a chicken coop that is raised off the ground, your floor and coop will remain much drier.
Benefit #5: Your coop entrance won’t get snowed in
If your coop is on the ground and you get a lot of snow, you will need to shovel the snow out of the way to get access to the coop entrance. If you have frequent snows, that’s a lot of extra work.
Benefit #6: Allows air circulation to regulate the coop temperature
A coop off the ground has increased air circulation underneath it. Not only does this help to keep the floor dry, but it may also help to regulate the temperature within the coop. The increase of airflow in the summer may help to keep the coop floor cooler.
A raised coop may also be warmer in the winter (although I don’t know if it will be enough to be noticeable). If your coop floor is in contact with the cold ground, heat will be drawn away from your coop, particularly if it has no floor. A raised coop doesn’t have this problem.
However, this is really a minor benefit. If you have a coop on the ground and you use a lot of bedding in your coop, the cold ground will be less of a problem.
If you use sand bedding, your coop will also be cooler in the summer, regardless of whether your chicken coop is on the ground or elevated. For information on how to use sand bedding, check out my article, Sand for chicken coop bedding: Pros, cons, and how to do it right.
Benefit #7: Extends the life of your chicken coop floor
Because the floor of an elevated chicken coop stays much drier, your chicken coop floor will last longer.
Benefit #8: Adds area to your chicken run
One of the biggest advantages to having a chicken coop off the ground is that the chickens can occupy the space underneath the coop, thereby extending the size of your run. Your chickens will thank you for this. They will love having the additional space.
Benefit #9: Provides shade for your chickens
The raised coop will help to provide additional shade for your chickens in their run. They will thank you for this when the hot summer days roll around.
If you don’t have a lot of shade in your run, you may want to consider putting wood on 2 or 3 sides of the area underneath the coop so that shade will be available most of the day.
Some chicken keepers even put sand underneath the chicken coop so that their chickens have a nice, cool, shady place to dust bathe for the summer (and a dry place for the winter). It’s a chicken’s dream come true!
Another idea is to hang your feeders and drinkers underneath the coop, thereby protecting them from overheating in the sun. Chickens will not drink warm water, so this additional shade can really be helpful.
Benefit #10: Provides shelter from inclement weather for your chickens
Aside from providing shade, the space underneath your raised chicken coop can also provide chickens with shelter from inclement weather.
If you have a lot of rainy, snowy, or windy weather, consider blocking 2 or 3 sides of the area with wood so that your chickens are better protected.
An even better idea is to wrap two or three sides of the empty space under the coop with a heavy duty, clear plastic tarp, like this tarp from Amazon, during the winter months (or rainy months, or whatever).
This is a really simple, low-cost solution to a run exposed to the elements. Your chickens will have a nice protected, dry spot where they can still spend time outside, and these clear tarps have a greenhouse effect. Your chickens will love the added warmth on those frigid winter days!
You also may want to consider hanging your feeders and drinkers under the coop to keep them dry during rainy or snowy weather.
Benefit #11: Protects your chickens from aerial predators
If your run isn’t covered, the space beneath an elevated chicken coop can provide protection from hawks, owls, or any other birds of prey.
Benefit #12: Possible use as a storage space
Some chicken keepers have even converted the space beneath the chicken coop into a storage space. In this case, you’d want to enclose that space, and then you can store some of your tools or supplies in there.
Benefit #13: Your coop is easier to clean
Another reason chicken coops that are built off the ground are so popular is because they can be much easier to clean. Back when I used straw or pine shavings for bedding in my elevated coop, all I had to do was swing the door wide open and then scrape the bedding out into a large tub for disposal.
Now I use sand, and all I have to do is open the door and scoop the droppings out with a kitty litter scooper. It takes all of two minutes. I don’t even have to bend over.
For why I use sand instead of straw or pine shavings (and I why I don’t recommend pine shavings whatsoever), check out my article, The best chicken coop bedding: Sand vs. straw vs. pine shavings.
I know other chicken keepers who simply park their wheelbarrow right under the door and then rake the bedding straight into it. Easy as pie!
Because these coops tend to be waist-high, you don’t have to stoop down or get on your knees to clean the coop. These coops are a great option for older people or people with bad backs or knees.
Some raised chicken coops even have removable floors. And some have floors with hinges that can swing open downward, dumping all the bedding out below.
Benefit #14: Egg collection is easier
The nesting boxes in coops off the ground tend to be waist-high as well. In many models, you have access to the nesting boxes from outside the coop. And even if you do have to open the door to collect your eggs, you can just reach straight in. No bending or squatting required.
Benefit #15: May be easier than leveling the ground
Many chicken keepers have said that building or buying a coop raised off the ground is easier than leveling the ground for a non-elevated coop. Leveling the ground can be a frustrating task, particularly if you don’t have any experience.
Do large, walk-in chicken coops need to be off the ground?
Building a smaller chicken coop off the ground is all well and good, but what if you need a very large coop? What if you have a large number of birds?
If you have to build or buy a larger coop, such as a walk-in shed with a wood floor, you should still try to elevate it some on concrete blocks. You don’t have to have it up very high, just high enough to provide some airflow, and high enough that rodents can’t nest underneath it.
How far off the ground does it need to be so that rodents don’t nest? Most sources suggest 1 foot off the ground as the ideal, but 8-10 inches is probably enough.
I know of a chicken keeper who had his coop only 4 inches off the ground. He had rats nesting underneath that then chewed through the floor. But what about 5 inches or 6 inches off the ground? Honestly, I’m not sure what the cut-off is.
Also, know that if your chicken coop is on the ground, this doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to have problems. So much of this just depends on where you live.
One of my chicken coops is a large shed that is raised only 4 inches off the ground (see it pictured down below). This is high enough for a little bit of airflow underneath of it to keep the wood from rotting, but in some regions of the world, this would not be high enough to prevent a major rat nesting problem.
I don’t know if there are rodents nesting underneath my coop. I live in the foothills, so rodents are everywhere, but I also have a cat who is, as my husband calls him, “a mighty, mighty hunter.” I’ve never had the problem of rodents chewing through the floor. I’ve never even had a mouse in the coop. Maybe that will change, but so far, so good.
If you know anybody else in your area who is raising chickens, ask them what their experiences have been. Are their coops raised? Have they had rodents in their coops? This information should help you know the right choice to make for your chicken coop.
I will also say that if I had the choice to do it again, I would definitely raise my shed chicken coop higher off the ground for my chickens’ sake. I have a large garden shed next to this coop that is raised about 8-10 inches off the ground (it varies because the ground isn’t level), and my chickens love spending time underneath it. You can see my red shed chicken coop and the tan garden shed next to it in the photo below.
The garden shed is on gravel, and so the ground underneath it stays very cool in the summer and provides my chickens much-needed relief from the heat. They also like to go under there for their mid-day naps and preening.
If you’re worried about your chickens laying eggs (or, even worse, going broody) under your large coop, you may want to block it off so that they can’t get underneath it. So far, I haven’t had this problem under my shed, and I like to watch my hens and roos enjoy the space. You can see one of my Ameraucana roosters (Perly) and my Barred Rock hen (Scrappy) enjoying the space under the shed in the photo above.
How high should a chicken coop be off the ground?
As stated in the previous section, if you have a large, walk-in coop (like a shed), aim for about a foot off the ground. This is high enough to ensure that rodents won’t feel comfortable nesting under there. It’s also high enough to provide some protection from the elements for your chickens. And it will provide airflow to help keep your floor dry.
If you can’t raise your coop up a whole foot, 8-10 inches would probably be enough space to deter rodents, but I’m not sure where the cutoff point is exactly. Let me know your experiences in the comments at the end of this article.
If you have a smaller coop that you want to build on legs, you’ll likely want to raise it higher off the ground for ease of cleaning. Most coops are built with their floors anywhere from 16 inches to 4 feet off the ground. Most of my coops are built with the floor 20 inches high, and these have worked perfectly for me.
If you want to build a coop with a drop-down floor—a hinged floor that opens downward to dump the bedding out below—you’ll likely need the coop floor raised to about 3 or 4 feet to allow space for the floor to open.
How do you build a chicken coop off the ground?
Building your first chicken coop can be a truly daunting task, especially if you don’t have building experience. My husband and I have created a set of super-detailed step-by-step plans and video lessons to teach you how to build a raised coop for up to 6 chickens.
No matter what your experience level is, you will be able to build this coop with our plans and video course. The coop has 3 nesting boxes, a pop-door and ramp, two sets of roosting bars, great ventilation, and a window. It also has a large door that swings open for you to have easy access for cleaning.
Get the course and plans here.
Where can you buy a high-quality chicken coop off the ground?
That’s easy.
Rita Marie’s Chicken Coops offer incredibly high-quality, Amish-built chicken coops in all different styles. Even the large walk-in coops are built a bit off the ground for you. I purchased my latest coop from Rita Marie’s, a 6x8 walk-in coop, and I couldn’t be more pleased.
For more information (and photos galore!), check out my review of my Rita Marie’s chicken coop, The BEST luxury coop you’ll ever buy: Spoil your chickens with Rita Marie’s.
Have more questions about chicken coops?
Check out my free training video, Chicken Coops 101: Designing Your Chickens’ Dream Home. I put this video presentation together to teach you exactly what you need to consider when buying or building your first chicken coop.
When I first got chickens, choosing a chicken coop was one of the most stressful things for me. I had so many little (but important) questions that I couldn’t find reliable answers for. That’s why I put this video together—to answer all those questions for you in one spot.
You May Also Be Interested In:
The BEST luxury coop you’ll ever buy: Spoil your chickens with Rita Marie's
Why you should NEVER buy a chicken coop from Amazon or Walmart
Does your chicken coop need to be in the sun or in the shade?
