Floor

[Russ9500]

Building my first coop. I have read that chicken wire should be put on the floor to prevent predators from digging in. With a good layer of hay and pine on it, would it damage the chickens feet or should it not be there?
Would appreciate some advice.

Russ

 

[barneveldrerman]

If you put a thick enough layer it shouldn't hurt the chickens feet. Is the floor a dirt floor?

 

[DeedeesInn]

Hi Russ,
I built my first coop and run last year, and it really helped me to look at lots of other people's coops and reasons for their designs on line first. After reading about and looking at lots of coop pics, I put a linoleum floor in my coop, that I cover with an absorbing material that the poo drops on. It is really practical. The coop is where the hens sleep at night mostly, on a roost. The coop needs to primarily have:
- a roost of the right size and width (mine is covered with a bike inner tube, for comfort!)
- adequate ventilation, near the ceiling, covered with hardware cloth
- easy cleaning: design big doors that give you access to the floor of the coop
-adequate space per hen
- nesting boxes (mine are often in their run, I live in a warm climate, but most people have their nesting boxes in the coop)
-water and food

Good luck, and have fun!

 

[Russ9500]

Thank you for the prompt reply and good suggestions. The coop has a sheet vinyl floor and the nesting boxes. The run is on dirt with the chicken wire on it. I plan to put a lot of pine and hay over the wire. I can remove the wire if that becomes necessary. The run is 4' x 8' and the coop is 4' x 4' above the run. I basically used the plan on Country Acres with some modification like adding 2' in length.
Appreciate the help. Thanks

Russ

 

[DeedeesInn]

Oh, you were asking about the run, I see. I have hardware cloth on all my run walls, and a different kind of wire on the floor, that has much bigger holes of about 2x3 inches between the wire. I put the run on a frame of 2x6 pressure-treated boards, and put bricks and concrete edge pieces around the whole run, and that has kept predators out so far. I figure the big 2x3 inch holes still allows for nice scratching, more comfortable than hardware cloth. I cover the wire bottom with dirt and grass clippings and veggie treats, so they don't feel the wire on their feet too much. Grass clippings are a huge treat!

 

[barneveldrerman]

Oh you were talking about the fun. I would put 4 inches of dirt or sand over it. You don't have to put wire on the floor. You can put a skirt under your fence which may save time and do the same thing.



Hope this helped!

 

[Russ9500]

The coop is sitting on 12" x 12" pavers all around so it may not need the wire, but since it is there I'll cover it good and try it. I plan to have 3 chickens which should be okay for 4 x 8. I really appreciate all of the input. I plan to get the birds tomorrow.
Thanks