Dropping Pit. Why a floor??

[Malachiuri]

Hello all, first post here!

We are in the process of building our first chicken bunker here in the Kansas City area. For the most part I am comfortable with the coop and run design, as I have been building rabbit hutches for our meat rabbits for years and have the basics down.

What I can't wrap my head around is the droppings pit thing. I am building a small coop for 3 chickens, (5x6 foot, but attached to a 6x14 run) which is elevated so the floor is around 3 foot above the ground.

If I decide to go with a dropping pit, why do I want to put a floor or catch surface under it? Assuming its securely wired against predators, why not allow the dropping to pass through a hole in the coop floor so they go right onto the ground beneath for easy raking and depositing into the compost?

The area under the actual coop will be wired and enclosed against predators, so cold wind should not be an issue. Access will be 2 large panels that lift out to rake out the droppings.

Any thoughts?

Thanks all.

M

 

[Egghead_Jr]

My thought is wire floor and chicken feet don't mix well. I know some do this and it's up to you how you manage your birds. A common method for those that like to keep coops clean? is to use a linoleum covered poop board under the roosts. The bulk of poop in coop, if they have a run, is coming from the roosts at night. They scrap the board using old tape knives, wall paper smoothies or whatever into a bucket for compost. I'm fine with composting pine shavings as we have multiple gardens for use. With 4 inches of shavings for litter and total clean out three times a year there is no smell. If I only clean twice a year it starts to stink some. They'll constantly scratch and turn it up so when removed is quite evenly filled with fertilizer that doesn't take much more composting to prepare the shavings. Another method that's gaining popularity is deep liter method where your actually adding green or brown material to keep the liter composting right in the coop. This takes a good 6 inches minimum to work well. Coop designs must account for this method in constructions due to added depth and possible need to seal the floor and lower walls.

Search 'Deep Litter Method" at top of page if that interests you. There is more to it than having deep material but those that do it properly really like it, never a smell and chickens love scratching through it. Use yard scraps of dried leaves and grass clippings for composting.

 

[Malachiuri]

Im not sure I was clear on my idea.

The opening to the ground below would only be directly under the roosting area. The rest of the coop floor would have typical bedding materials.

Thanks!

M

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Hey, that's an idea. No reason why not if you've designed for it. Your enclosure around the coop bottom would want to be tight fitting to stop winter up draft under the birds.