For those with floor coop doors...

[rbagdon]

A few photos of my door. I think it works well and keeps out the weather better then a side opening.

 

[leight54]

Well, I'm glad to see at least a couple people have had success with the pop-door in the floor! That is what I am planning to do, and it's my only option. My coop is an existing well-built, wood playhouse, raised on posts about 40 inches high. I am going to enclose the underneath, plus extend it out a ways, but no higher than the 40 inches. I am trying to keep my coop as inconspicuous as possible, so as not to call attention to my 3 "illegal residents"!

Plus, we don' t own our house, and thus the play house, so I don't want to cut a hole in the wall. When we move away, I will dismantle what I've added, and the only trace I will leave is a mysterious trap door......

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Ok, you got me, that is definitely a circumstance I had not thought of

I don't suppose you could make just a little part of the run high enough to use the playhouse WINDOW for a popdoor?

If not, then you might consider putting a sort of one-side-missing 'box' over the floor trapdoor so that they can hop up on that if they want and thus not lose floorspace to *quite* the extent they would otherwise. Remember a floor hole will have to be larger than a wall popdoor would, because chickens are not helicopters and need a horizontal component to their ascent/descent (unless it is only a VERY short hop)

Good luck, have fun, am adding "impermeable walls and unusable windows" to mental library of circumstances that might surround use of floor hole

,

Pat

 

[leight54]

Hey, I like the box idea! Thanks.

I'm not too worried about loss of floor space, because the house is 4' x 6' and I'll only have 3 hens. The ceiling peaks at about 7 foot, so there'll be lots of room for roosts.

I only have a "before" picture, but I'll post my progress. This forum has been SO helpful! My chicks were due to hatch yesterday, I'm anxiously awaiting the phone call from the hobby farmer that they're ready to come home.....

 

[Shawnstone]

I have an 8'x4' coop as well, with the door on the floor going down into the run. I used 2"x2"'s to make a lip to keep the shavings from falling out. Honestly, not too many shavings fall out; sure some do but no more than my other coop with the pop door out the side with a ramp. Maybe my girls just don't kick their shavings around too much and I'm lucky that way, I dunno. It DOES take up floor space, but my girls are rarely on the floor anyway, they spend all their time up on the roost. I started out closing the pop door every night, but have ended up just leaving it open as the bottom of the run is safely enclosed with hardwire cloth to keep them safe. I keep the food and water in the below run, so I don't need to take up floor space in the coop with them.

Here's a couple pics:

and a close-up of the pop door:

I realize this thread is 8 years old but you would not have a photo of how you access the bottom of the coop by chance? Thanks Shawn (641)203-4489 if your brave enough to text it to me. If not I unerstand.

 

[aart]

I realize this thread is 8 years old but you would not have a photo of how you access the bottom of the coop by chance?

@Shawnstone The post you quoted is 12 years old and the member who posted it hasn't been here for 5 years.

You really shouldn't post your phone number on a public forum,
you can edit your post and delete it.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

I realize this thread is 8 years old but you would not have a photo of how you access the bottom of the coop by chance? Thanks Shawn (641)203-4489 if your brave enough to text it to me. If not I unerstand.

Hi Shawn, I have my coop on a slopped part of a very small lot, so I had to put the door in the floor. The shavings/straw do not come out much, in fact about as much as with a side door, but I am not using deep litter. I have a tile floor I wash in summer with water & dish-soap-&-vinegar. I use a broom to sweep the floor (which brushes it clean) and I throw shavings onto that to absorb the mess. The shavings then get picked up and composted or swept through the hole to the run. In winter I let fall a little more as that creates the insulation in the run.

The disadvantages are:
If I have a sick hen who will not come in at night I have to crawl under to get her.
If it rains a lot I have to create drainage behind the coop to prevent muck.
I lose some floor space during the day, but at night I sit a feed bucket on top of the trap door
The floor is one I also walk on, and the hole of creates a weakness in the floor.

Make a new post if you want more comments. It is winter here, so most detailed pictures would not show much. I will see what I can send you.

Best to you in your construction plans

 

[Forrnellie]

I have an 8'x4' coop as well, with the door on the floor going down into the run. I used 2"x2"'s to make a lip to keep the shavings from falling out. Honestly, not too many shavings fall out; sure some do but no more than my other coop with the pop door out the side with a ramp. Maybe my girls just don't kick their shavings around too much and I'm lucky that way, I dunno. It DOES take up floor space, but my girls are rarely on the floor anyway, they spend all their time up on the roost. I started out closing the pop door every night, but have ended up just leaving it open as the bottom of the run is safely enclosed with hardwire cloth to keep them safe. I keep the food and water in the below run, so I don't need to take up floor space in the coop with them.

Here's a couple pics:

and a close-up of the pop door:

Yes yes yes!!!!! This! I have the pop door but the hatch goes down and cannot be closed due to the ramp. Going to switch the hinge on the design and bring the trap door to the top. Thanks for the pic, I needed the visual. Skunks 2, Me 0 until tonite!

 

[izzyduck]

I have an A-Frame coop with a floor opening and ladder/ramp. Even with a "lip" around the opening, bedding falls out all the time.

The other issue is the hole in the floor has to be larger than a usual "pop door" because - you have to think about this now - the chickens are walking up a ramp and the opening has to be longer so their heads don't scrape along the bottom of the floor very much. Chickens do not duck well.

While the ramp is down, it allows more air up into the housing section of the coop. If you don't raise it at night, cold air will come up and into the coop. The hole in the floor takes away from available floor space, too... for square footage requirements. If you don't raise the ramp or otherwise close the hole at night, you may have an unwelcome visitor get into the coop at night.

What seemed like a nifty idea when I built that coop has turned into something less than ideal. It works, but ..... I kinda wish I'd made other arrangements.

Here's a picture of it under construction.

i agree i have the same problem, and because it is steep two of my birds have injured legs.