Coup floor design

[rachipetal]

I would like to build a grate or mesh floor into my new coup so that the poo will fall through. The new coup will be kept on our allotment with our largest hens, and therefore easy maintenance is very important (they are messy bu**ers!). I don't want to use weld mesh or wire as a floor coz I'd be worried about it damaging their feet. The coup will be made from a shed, and will have a false grate floor above the normal floor to stop any predators getting in.

Has anyone else done anything similar? Got any advice?

 

[Chirpy]

Walking on any type of grate or mesh will damage/hurt their feet. Can you just put that under their roost area, like a droppings pit? That would take care of most of the mess.

 

[rachipetal]

Yeah, that would make sense. How much space do they need in a coup other than the nesting boxes and perches?

 

[sugarbush]

I build custom coops and I cut the floor boards and then lay them in place without nailing them down. That way when they need to be cleaned out the boards can be stood up on the side and washed down with a hose. All the manure goes down through to the ground.

I use cedar for the floor boards as they are rot resistant.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
My roosts in my coop are over wire which allows the poop through and I sprinkle the FOOD GRADE Diatomaceous Earth (DE) over the poop. I use pine shavings are on the floor in the rest of the coop. I also sprinkle the DE on the shavings. I clean my coop once a year. I have no problems with flies and such. My pine shavings stay nice and dry easy to clean out. I put them in my compost pile. which every once in awhile I give a toss to keep it mixed up with the other stuff that goes in. sprinkle with water and let it cook. I move my coop and chicken yard about every 3 months approx, clean up the poop under the roost and it goes into the compost. I grow so much produce that I give most of it away. My soil is low in acid so I think the pine shavings are good for my soil.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
My roosts in my coop are over wire which allows the poop through and I sprinkle the FOOD GRADE Diatomaceous Earth (DE) over the poop. I use pine shavings are on the floor in the rest of the coop. I also sprinkle the DE on the shavings. Monthly I add some shavings and weekly I add DE. I clean my coop once a year. I have no problems with flies and such. My pine shavings stay nice and dry easy to clean out. I put them in my compost pile. which every once in awhile I give a toss to keep it mixed up with the other stuff that goes in. sprinkle with water and let it cook. I move my coop and chicken yard about every 3 months approx, clean up the poop under the roost and it goes into the compost. I grow so much produce that I give most of it away. My soil is low in acid so I think the pine shavings are good for my soil.

 

[Chirpy]

rachipetal asked:

How much space do they need in a coup other than the nesting boxes and perches?

You should allow a minimum of 4 square feet per chicken (standard size) inside your coop.​

 

[mtnhomechick]

One back corner of my floor is grated. It is covered with pine shavings, stall dry and straw. I can scrape the poo to this corner and " drop it" and recover with these materials. The chickens love to lay in that corner and take a bath in the shavings.

I just rake it clean and dump the scrapings ( poo ) and recover. About once every few weeks I take the hose in there and spray through the grate to make room for more.