Deck Opinions?

[21hens-incharge]

View attachment 2410842
Chicken wire=not safe
Hardware cloth=not big enough for poop to fall through
solid floor with bedding and side door=good for birds' feet, predator proof, easy to clean

X1000!

 

[Pye Wacket]

What do you mean by a second floor? As in a two story coop?
Somehow I think I am misunderstanding this. A two layer floor? Why would a wooden floor need a layer of wire?

The hardware cloth was to keep anything from chewing through the floor. I'm sure there are critters capable of chewing through hardware cloth too but it would at least slow them down, plus the goggies would come running if anything "interesting" were going on, so I assume they chased their fair share of critters off long before they got a toothmark on the wire.

And yeah you really ought to be wary of critters even in town. I guarantee you, there are rats (normal field or wood rats, not NECESSARILY Norway rats) in every town, and you may be disappointed to find that out after they discover your coop.

Hardware cloth (run up the sides as well) also kept snakes and other skinnies from finding a crevice to squeeze through. If a gap appeared due to whatever reason, the hardware cloth was still a barrier much too small for anything big enough to bother the chickens to get through.

I never lost a single bird. Pretty sure I never lost an egg either. I only kept them for 3 years then I went back to school so ... no more chickens. Didn't have time for them.

BTW - I wouldn't bother with slabs (which I had used for siding) again. Yeah, they were free, but they were a pain to fit. I had to trim every single piece (at an angle) so I could butt them up close (with overlap), and I had to cut every single piece to length. I think I would go with cementitious slats (the long sort that you install horizontally, cannot for the LIFE of me remember the proper term) or shingles if I were building another coop - which I hope to be doing by next year. *crosses fingers*

That stuff lasts forever but it still breathes and it won't ever rot. It's a one and done siding. And you don't need that much of it for a small coop. Every once in awhile I see it on craigslist for free or cheap, but a lot of that has asbestos in it soooo ... pass.