Flooring for mobile coop

courtneysr

Hatching
7 Years
Mar 29, 2012
3
0
7
Virginia
My DH just finished framing out my 8x4x8 coop, which will be on wheels. I plan on letting my chickens range freely. DH wants to lay sturdy mesh/wire/don't know what on the floor joists. He plans on letting the chicken poop fall through and not have to worry about bedding, other than in the nest boxes. This has been done in this area before, but as this is my first flock, I have some concerns.

1) Will this bother the chickens' feet? (They will only go in at night, not be cooped up all day)

2) What would be the best material for this?

3) Should we plan on covering the bottom of the coop in winter, as we were planning with the windows (probably plywood shuttters of some sort) (They will still have ventilation, but I'm worried about drafts.)

Any input would be appreciated. Oh, and if this helps--my flock will be 8 hens: 4 Easter Eggers, 2 Buff Orpingtons, 1 Barred Plymouth Rock, and 1 Partridge Plymouth Rock. We are keeping them for eggs.

Thank you!

Courtney
 
I've used hardware cloth in the past with success. It's sturdy enough to support the foot traffic and it lets the poo fall through no prob. I've also heard of people using chicken wire but putting two layers of it to make the holes smaller. Just make sure the holes in the material are big enough to let droppings through but not so big that it's awkward to walk on. If your coop floor framing is sitting flush on the ground i wouldn't worry about covering the floor in the winter. There won't be much draft coming in. Especially if you're closing up every thing else. If you get snow you'll have the place sealed up really well around the bottom.
 
Thanks so much for the info! I'll look into harware cloth when I go back to the store to get the roofing materials.

The coop is going to be about a foot off the ground, because it will be on wheels. So, still worried about draftiness
hmm.png


One more thing--We have an entry door tall enough for me. I was planning on propping this open all day while the chickens are ranging. Do I necessarily need a chicken-sized door if I do this?
 
Last edited:
UPDATE--

I just read a post about a chicken tractor https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/cluckingham-palace-chicken-coop-tractor and was given the wonderful idea of buying truck bedliners for $30 from tsc to use as floor insulation in the winter!

I looked online and could only find them for $70, but I was thinking a stall mat for around $30 might work, too.

We'll see what I come up with! Winter is months away
smile.png
 
If it were me and I had the coop floor off the ground I think I would maybe make a skirt around it to the ground. But that's just me and I would rather not have a solid floor if I can get away with it. Less maintenance and care. And if you're free ranging I would try putting a pop door anyway. I would prefer this because it makes the coop more secure from predators and weather conditions. My coop is set up with a pop door about 2 feet off the ground and no ramp to it. The hens hop in and out and skunks wont get in through something like that. (We have terrible skunk issues.)
 
for those of you doing a tractor. is it feasible to have a daily tractor that is mobile enough to roll or push up to the gate leading into the run to load & unload the chickens before and after a day of grazing?
 
bj taylor, I'm not sure I understand your set up. I'm guessing you are taking you chickens to a run every morning and letting them out. If this is the case why don't you make a more permanent coop at the run? I don't see a reason why you couldn't make a tractor that you could move once or twice a day. But if they are going to be grazing in the same place all the time you could leave them there over night?
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom