Do I need a solid floor in the coop or can I use hard ware cloth?

[kirt]

I will be building my first chicken tractor and getting 10 hens. My tractor will be 16'X8' the coop part will be 6'x8' the coop will be 2 feet off the ground. I live in south Louisiana doesn't get very cold here.
My question is do I need a solid floor with shavings that will need to be cleaned out or can I use hard ware cloth or something similar that would allow the droppings to fall through. I will be moving the tractor around the yard as needed to avoid build up.

 

[kimmommy23]

I would suggest that you do not use any kind of wire for the flooring as it can damage the chickens' feet. I would probably leave the run portion without any flooring at all and the coop portion painted wood or something else that can be easily cleaned.

 

[kirt]

Thanks. the run will be just bare grass.

 

[newchicks5]

till they eat all the grass or dig it up ,but they love it.

 

[kimmommy23]

I also bet you would find the droppings would get stuck in the wire and would be nearly impossible to clean out over time.

 

[aart]

Wire floor might work....I remember a couple of threads that showed success with it.
Can't remember what size worked tho. Poops can get pretty big with mature large fowl birds and wire is hard to clean.

Try browsing thru these threads, maybe you can find it.
advanced search>titles only> wire floor