Floor of elevated coop - wire vs hard surface

[fatcatx]

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?

 

[southernBelle79]

I'm pretty much in the same boat- so any advice would be appreciated!

 

[cosmo1104]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/using-sand-in-your-chicken-coop
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...e-easiest-way-to-deal-with-chicken-litter-dlm

I'm starting out too, and found these threads very helpful, but I will be doing the following,
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/621363/poop-board-convert-warning-graphic-gross-poop-pictures

 

[cosmo1104]

I've had chickens before and the smell was horrible due to my lack of knowledge. I'm hoping from the ideas on this site, we can stop that.
I bought Sweet PMZ today and DE, built a poop board and plan on doing a river sand floor. Good luck, let me know what you decide on and how it works so I can steal the idea if its succesful

 

[fatcatx]

Turns out hubby & I were having a communication problem (shocking!). There will be no wire and the pull-out portion will be filled with the wood shavings. So I guess I need to alter my question to whether it is worth the trouble of constructing the pull-outs? Do people have them and love them? Seems like a lot of extra trouble for such a small coop.

 

[fatcatx]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/using-sand-in-your-chicken-coop
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...e-easiest-way-to-deal-with-chicken-litter-dlm

I'm starting out too, and found these threads very helpful, but I will be doing the following,
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/621363/poop-board-convert-warning-graphic-gross-poop-pictures

Thanks for finding these! Worst fear is going through all the expense of building a coop and finding we did everything the hard way! Will keep you posted. . .

 

[bj taylor]

I don't have a 'pull out' per se, but I have a hinged door. my floor is linoleum and I use the deep litter method. I have very little, if any, odor. when i'm ready to clean out, I open this door, go inside the coop & using a push broom, shove all the stuff out the hinged door onto a tarp and then the used litter goes into the compost.
I find it super easy and no mess.

 

[cosmo1104]

Thanks for finding these! Worst fear is going through all the expense of building a coop and finding we did everything the hard way! Will keep you posted. . .

Well, I'll tell ya this, my first time doing this, I did what you guys are planning, and IT SUCKED! ALot of work and it stunk BAD, sorry, tell your hubby I understand, it seems very logical, but you have to clean it out EVERY DAY and clean the coup out. I've yet to try the methods I linked, but based on reading them and the experts saying thats the way to go, that's what I'll be doing and hoping it works. I'm not saying that his way isn't a good idea, but dang, it was alot of work to keep up with.

 

[fatcatx]

Well, I'll tell ya this, my first time doing this, I did what you guys are planning, and IT SUCKED! ALot of work and it stunk BAD, sorry, tell your hubby I understand, it seems very logical, but you have to clean it out EVERY DAY and clean the coup out. I've yet to try the methods I linked, but based on reading them and the experts saying thats the way to go, that's what I'll be doing and hoping it works. I'm not saying that his way isn't a good idea, but dang, it was alot of work to keep up with.

The sweet PDZ looks fantastic but I'm not sure how to work it into our coop design. Yard is small so coop will be in a corner where access to the inside will be limited. All the sweet PDZ pics I've seen have open shed-like coops. I don't think I'll be able to reach the far half of our coop design using a scoop. I'm going to show the link and pics to my husband and see what he comes up with.

 

[fatcatx]

I don't have a 'pull out' per se, but I have a hinged door. my floor is linoleum and I use the deep litter method. I have very little, if any, odor. when i'm ready to clean out, I open this door, go inside the coop & using a push broom, shove all the stuff out the hinged door onto a tarp and then the used litter goes into the compost.
I find it super easy and no mess.

How often do you have to do this to keep odors under control? We are in close quarters with other neighbors so we need to keep it as odor free as possible.