Flooring material..

[BigCuz051]

I'm new to this whole chicken thing. I'm building a coop and was wondering what to use as the floor in the coop. I was thinking of using chicken wire, but did not want to hurt the feet of the chicken's. Any input would be great. Thanks.

 

[debid]

I've read that wire floors are not recommended for heavy breeds. You can get away with it for lighter breeds but I think most people use a solid surface with litter on it. It's often suggested here to get vinyl flooring for ease of cleaning and low cost.

It definitely makes a difference whether you're building a stationary structure or a mobile, tractor-style coop where weight is a concern.

OH, and I think you're supposed to use "cage wire" for a floor rather than poultry wire which is pretty light duty and won't last very long.

 

[elmo]

First of all, chicken wire isn't strong enough to keep out predators. If you use it anywhere on your coop you're pretty much building a chicken take out box for raccoons. Welded wire, sometimes called hardware cloth, is a much stronger product.

People often try welded wire floors, and they find that a lot of chicken droppings just get caught on the wire. Wire is not the best thing for a chicken to have to walk on, either.

I just have a plywood floor in my coops. I painted it with Kilz, because I had some leftover, and then put down my bedding (in my case, sand) right over that. Works fine.

 

[THINGUM]

I've done a lot of research on BYC and mostly it comes down to solid floor, then vinyl (solid, not tiles) wrap it up the walls, deep litter method (not ceder). Lots of other considerations, #1 being adequate ventilation. Good luck and

"Build her hell for stout, "pretty" always takes care of herself." ... Charlie Settlemeyer

 

[kichohana]

Solid wood flooring is best, either with a few coats of paint to seal it or covered with vinyl flooring - not tiles, solid vinyl. Wire flooring can cause bumblefoot and other problems, not to mention it isn't predator proof. Also, you don't want open flooring for drafts - chickens don't do drafts. I put down the cheapest vinyl flooring I could find - and attached it before I put up my walls. I also put vinyl flooring on my poop/droppings board and the door/wall behind it 'cause poop seems to go there too! It's economical, practical and super easy to clean up. My poop board comes clean with a scrape, and the flooring is covered with deep litter pine shavings which sweeps out clean 2x a year.

 

[Donna5]

Hi,
My first 5 hens are a week old today. 2 Ameracauans, 1 Buff Orpington, 1 Silver Wyandotte, and 1 Giant Black Jersey. Awaiting 2 black silkies...We are building a chicken shed as we speak with an attached outside run, I found the idea on the coop section of BYC. Thank You.

What keeps me up at night is this, do I put in a solid floor the the run area, or do I bury the hardward cloth along the sides of the shed
and use sand directly on the ground, or use the wood pellets that can be composted. So far I still have time to decide the best way to keep the peeps happy and the predators out. I have read to much that I have gotten myself confused with too many choices. Any thought would be amazingly appreciated. Thanks
Donna
Mom to 3, wife to 1, 2 dogs, 1 cat, 2 tarantulas, 5 chickens.

 

[darkmatter]

Dirt floor, sub-ground level with deep litter.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
I highly recommend sand in the run. It's inexpensive, easy to clean and the chickens like to dustbathe in it. Coarse sand is good. I use the kind labeled "all purpose" at Lowes.

You don't need to put in a solid floor or bury wire to keep your chickens safe. Use an apron! Fasten a welded wire apron to the perimeter of the run, extending outward flat on the ground for 2 feet or so. Stake it down with landscaping staples or anchor it with rocks, etc. Critters will try to dig at the base of the run, hit the wire, and give up. They can't figure out that they need to back up two feet and start digging back there, and even if they did, it would be morning before they managed to dig a tunnel longer than two feet to get inside the run.