Considering floor change

[Studio2770]

We currently have wire mesh as the coop floor mainly to help the poop fall through but not all of it does. Taking the wire mesh out seems too difficult considering it's sandwiched so we would have to take the coop apart to get it out. What I am considering is placing plywood to cover the whole floor, screw it down, then put whatever bedding, I'm considering sand, is that the best bedding? Does this seem like a good plan if we ever decide to change the floor?

Here you can see how the mesh is sandwiched between beams. It just looks like we have too much to do just to get to the wire mesh.

 

[JackE]

I'd cut some plywood to fit right over the bottom floor frame. And either nail or screw it down. As you have found out, hardware cloth for a floor is not the way to go. I believe, as much crap sits on top of it, as goes through.
As far as litter goes, I use pine shavings, but a lot of people really like sand. It would just be your personal choice. But either one will be much better than the wire floor you have now. The chickens would thank you if they could.

 

[Studio2770]

I'd cut some plywood to fit right over the bottom floor frame. And either nail or screw it down. As you have found out, hardware cloth for a floor is not the way to go. I believe, as much crap sits on top of it, as goes through.
As far as litter goes, I use pine shavings, but a lot of people really like sand. It would just be your personal choice. But either one will be much better than the wire floor you have now. The chickens would thank you if they could.

That does seem the most efficient way. We would have to cut the plywood into pieces to fit them through the coop door. We went with wire mesh instead of chicken wire so the holes wouldn't catch their feet. I guess we'll decide on bedding whenever we get to changing the floor.

 

[chfite]

I tried hardware cloth when I built my first coop. It turned out to be a poor choice. The poop did not fall through as expected, and it is a hassle to clean.

Chris

 

[petrel]

I'd cut some plywood to fit right over the bottom floor frame. And either nail or screw it down. As you have found out, hardware cloth for a floor is not the way to go. I believe, as much crap sits on top of it, as goes through.
As far as litter goes, I use pine shavings, but a lot of people really like sand. It would just be your personal choice. But either one will be much better than the wire floor you have now. The chickens would thank you if they could.

This^

I built a wire floor too. Then on the sage advice of the good folks on BYC, I covered it with plywood before ever even using it. I had to divide the plywood into a couple of sections to get it in the coop too. So long as the sections meet on a support, or in a place where you can add a support, it will work out.

 

[vehve]

Just an idea, but if you're not going to use the hardware cloth as floor, why not just cut it away and attach plywood under the coop. You can nail some trim to cover the leftover parts of hardware cloth if they seem sharp, or sand them down. Then just add some supports to the plywood floor from below. Removes the need for cutting up the plywood in pieces and I'm guessing a lot more comfortable to build than crawling about a coop built for something one tenth of your size.

 

[RouttyChicks]

i originally had a dirt floor in my coop (it stayed wet) so i laid fence boards across the floor to make a wooden floor. I cover it with tar paper and once a month just roll up the tar paper and put down new. Seems to work great!