Floor of elevated coop - wire vs hard surface

[c2chicks]

I only have 3 birds, so...
My coop is similar to yours. I LOVE the slide out drawer. It's very shallow, shavings won't work (in mine, anyway). I put a thin layer of Sweet PDZ down (not even .5 ") and every day, I pull it out all the way, empty it into a long skinny (pre pasted wallpaper) tray. It's really too shallow to scoop. Then I put the drawer back, put a colander in (on the floor), empty the tray into the colander and shake it around the floor. Takes me less than 30 seconds. I do it every day--it couldn't be easier. No smell...ever They only use that part of the coop at night, they don't romp around in there during the day. We also used sand on the floor of the little attached run. It got too wet for our liking, a lot of moisture is bad in the cold. We built (w/2x4's and plywood) a "giant cookie sheet" caulked, painted and set it up on some bricks. Then we set the coop on top of that and filled it with 3" of sand. I clean that sand w/a kitty litter scoop. Perfect!

 

[fatcatx]

I only have 3 birds, so...
My coop is similar to yours. I LOVE the slide out drawer. It's very shallow, shavings won't work (in mine, anyway). I put a thin layer of Sweet PDZ down (not even .5 ") and every day, I pull it out all the way, empty it into a long skinny (pre pasted wallpaper) tray. It's really too shallow to scoop. Then I put the drawer back, put a colander in (on the floor), empty the tray into the colander and shake it around the floor. Takes me less than 30 seconds. I do it every day--it couldn't be easier. No smell...ever They only use that part of the coop at night, they don't romp around in there during the day. We also used sand on the floor of the little attached run. It got too wet for our liking, a lot of moisture is bad in the cold. We built (w/2x4's and plywood) a "giant cookie sheet" caulked, painted and set it up on some bricks. Then we set the coop on top of that and filled it with 3" of sand. I clean that sand w/a kitty litter scoop. Perfect!

Well I feel a litle better knowing someone likes the slide out drawer cuz apparently I ain't getting it any other way!

Not sure how deep it will end up being. I think I have about 2 inches to work with. I may try all PDZ first. We'll see when it all comes together. We're kind of making this up as we go along!

 

[fatcatx]

I would go with the pullout drawer for this particular run...I have linoleum in my coop but it is large enough for me to go in and clean. For a small coop like this, I believe that a pull out tray would work best because you probably won't be able to get into the coop.

Probably not - but we're debating putting the roof on a hinge so it can be flipped up. Won't be fun crawling into the coop but then you could stand up when a deep clean is needed. Still pondering that one. . .

 

[vickichicki]

I like the tray idea. I will defintely have to give it a try. The sweet PDZ seems the way to go under the roost. Any other ideas on what could be used for a tray? The roost area will be in about a 3.5x3 area. Hate to buy a tote just for the lid but that may be the only option.

Hubby is INSISTING pull-outs with shavings will work great. Home projects are always a painful process at our house. We speak two completely different languages when it comes to visualizing a finished project.

Dollar store baking trays? maybe scour Craigslist for some old used baking sheets. I am racking my brains trying to think of something more practical without the huge expense. Like the tote lid minus the need to purchase the tote.

Oooh... maybe... or not... They make trays you can sit your washing machine on, like an emergancy tray if ever it leaks.http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-30-in-x-32-in-x-2-in-Washer-Floor-Tray-PM7X1DS/202214668... how about something like that?

 

[Pure silkies]

I

We are constructing our own coop similar to the one above. My husband and I are going backnforth re: what the floor of the "house" part of the coop should be made of. He wants to put in a wire floor with a pull-out drawer underneath with shavings to aid in cleaning. I've seen others lay down scrap flooring linoleum directly on the floor, add pine shaving for bedding and just sweep it out as needed. I think the chickens would prefer this to the wire. He thinks it'll be a pain to clean. Any thoughts from anyone who has a similar coop set-up?

I have a coop exactly the same as the one in your pic... I have use the linoleum with shaving on top I find it much easier as every so often to give it a really good clean out, I disinfect and hose it out with water. Help this helps.

 

[fatcatx]

I like the washer tray idea - that has definite possibilities! The two roosts will probably end up being ladder style so guessing the square shape would work better for that. I looked at totes and the lids aren't very deep because they bulge inward for stacking purposes. I have a fiberglass tray I use for holding my seed pots in the spring. Not sure I can give that up for the chickies though - I have to have my tomatoes!

I may just need to wander the aisles of Home Depot until inspirations strikes.

 

[vickichicki]

Other than getting a single sheet of metal and bending the edges to make a lip for it the washing machine tray was the best I could come up with.
DH gave me a tray from a water heater to use yesterday. It is round and I am not sure of the practicalities of using it. Maybe a scarps tray but it is huge.
Hoping to build a few tractors soon, maybe I can incorporate it in one of those.

If you are thinking of going the washing machine tray route.. check out Amazon or something too. Might be able to find one cheaper.. or with different dimensions.

 

[fatcatx]

I
I have a coop exactly the same as the one in your pic... I have use the linoleum with shaving on top I find it much easier as every so often to give it a really good clean out, I disinfect and hose it out with water. Help this helps.

Thx! We just got some scrap linoleum that we are putting in the bottom of the pull-out trays. I will pull them out for a hose-down when they need a more serious cleaning. Hoping that will just be in the Spring and Fall. (Once a year would be even better!) There will be more exposed wood in the coop with the tray design that I'm guessing will be fouled (pun intended). What does everyone use to scrub away the hardened poo? I was thinking I would have to go with a wire brush - or is there something less aggressive that will work just as well?

 

[fatcatx]

Found a sturdy fiberglass tray here that would be perfect but at $80 it is cost prohibitive http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=22944&catid=852. I have a smaller version for my seed starts and I LOVE them. The fiberglass is what makes it so expensive. I'm going to poke around at other restaurant cites and see if I can find a bargain one. Amazon has some plastic dog crate trays and boot drip trays that may work too. Still expensive for something to collect poop, but if I use it for the next 10 years I suppose $30 isn't bad if it fits the need. I will wait until the coop is completed and the ladies have made it clear where they are going to do all their roosting/pooping business before I decide!

 

[taylynnp]

I think we are going to use these under the roosts. The oil drip pans are 4 ft long. My kids have one to do playdough on.
I think they are pretty cheap for the size.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/ATP-Extra-Large-Oil-Drip-Pan/16778234