Help- Coop floor of expanded metal & below floor entry door

[VallejoSheltie]

Hi All,

I am completing my Coop/Tractor, and had a question regarding the floor.
My tractor is nominally 8' x 3' x 30" for 2 chickens.
On one end, I have built a 42" x 36" coop, which sits above the tractor. So the floor of the coop is above the enclosed part of the tractor.
I would like to have metal grill type of floor, which would make hosing out the coop for cleaning easy and mostly hands-free. Maybe place a cloth poop-chute/hammock below it to keep the a lot of the poop out of the enclosure.

I live in between South of Napa, where it is relatively warm/hot in the summer, and rarely gets even frost in the winter. Latitude 38"

1. Considering I am in one of the warmer regions, I am guessing this is OK. I saw a lady in England who does something similar, and seems to have had good results.
Does this sound like an OK thing to move ahead with? The expanded metal is this:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Crown-Bo...in-Metal-Plain-Expanded-Sheet-45840/202183529

2. Because of the 2nd story coop, I need to make an entry for the ramp in the floor. I am thinking 10"x10" or 12"x12" if I can squeeze it in. Chickens are a Rhode Island Red, and a white one which I'm not sure of pedigree, except that it is definately smaller than the RR.
Would a 10x10 opening be big enough?


3. Misc. questions.
3.1 My 2 pullets are ~3-3.5 months old, and seem to eat a heck of a lot. I give them 1/2-2/3 of a 32 oz Gatorade bottle of feed in the AM, and usually another 1/2 in the late afternoon. Is this enough, or should I feed more?

3.2 They seem to be pooping quite a bit at night, when there is no access to food. I take it unlike dogs, they will poop all day/night long? I ask because I thought someone here had posted they did not put feed in the coop to cut down on pooping.

3.3 Actually should have started with this question. Does my tractor/enclosure seem large enough for 2 chickens?

Thanks!

 

[Whittni]

 

[chfite]

My pop door is 11 inches tall, 12 inches wide. The New Hampshire Reds and the big Barred Rock Rooster go through just fine. They have to duck, but it does not seem to bother them.

I always provide feed for the chickens. Mine forage all day, every day, but still eat feed. I feed them, they lay eggs. Working for me. As I recall, the amount of feed usually eaten is on the order of 4 ounces per chicken per day. I just keep the feeder full.

I started with hardware cloth as a floor. I thought that the poop would fall through or be easy to stir up and then fall through. It does not work that way. It has be shoveled off. Unless you hose it down daily, it seems to me that it will take a lot of time and water to produce a mucky mess under your coop. A poop board under the roosts or some sort of solid floor strikes me as a better alternative. Deep litter has its supporters for a good reason.


Chris

 

[VallejoSheltie]

Thank you both!

I think I will try the original plan with expanded metal first mainly because I 'want to believe' that I can save myself some hassle,
and also because we're in a warm area and this should improve ventilation.

The floor will be able to slide in and out, so it can be removed for cleaning with the pressure hose, or replaced with plywood when it gets really chilly in the winter, or if the exp. metal plan doesn't work.

Appreciate the suggestions/feedback,