Chicken Coop Details

[tiddlywinks]

Hi! I am thinking of designing my own coop, but was wondering if there were any special features that you added to your coop that made it easier. I have already learned about the coop with the chicken wire on the bottom so the poop falls right through, and then there is a tray underneath so you can collect the poop. Has anybody tried this? Is it good?

Thanks!

 

[Stiggy]

chickens walking on wire can hurt their feet, especially if its not on the ground wire. also nesting boxes need to be lower than the perches or they will sit and **** in their nest box rather than sit on the perch .

 

[tiddlywinks]

If I put hay/straw over the chicken wire, how would the poop sift through?

 

[21hens-incharge]

The best thing I have found is Poop boards under the roosts.
Chickens do that a lot at night and the boards make it so they are not walking around in it.
If you use wire for the floor think about how a chickens foot is shaped and how pressure is applied.
They are much different than a rabbits padded foot. I think the wire would be dangerous for the feet.
During the day they will want to be outside and thus not pooping inside.

On another note I added an awning window above the chicken door to help with ventilation and found that it also helps keep the rain out of the coop. The door slides sideways so as not to block the window.
Linoleum on the floor of the coop makes cleaning a snap. Everything just sweeps up. I am up to 5 coops and I would not know what to do if I had to spend the entire day chipping dried poo off the wood floor. Mine have been in use for 3+ years and the flooring is holding up very well. Home Depot and Lowes offer discontinued linoleum at VERY cheap prices.

One thing I would have done differently if I could have.....
I have an external nest box that sticks into the run area. I should have made it outside of the run since I have to put 5 hens into the coop every night due to wanting to sleep on top of it.

Coops can be rather dark inside. I added some of the clear plastic roofing to the newest coop only on the south side to add light. ( not wanting to cook them in the coop )
I liked it so much I replaced the clean out door on another with a piece of the roofing mounted to a frame. It really added some light in there.

I hope the ideas here have helped.
Happy chickening.