material for bottom of chicken coop

[3 girls chickens]

Hello,

Im building a chicken coop for 12 chickens. I was wondering how big the house should be and do i use wood for the floor or should i use chicken wire. I live in Massachusetts and was also wondering if i need anything special for the winter months.

thanks for the help

 

[ChickenToes]

You should use wood, wire can cut their feet. Each bird should have 4 square feet of space inside the coop.

Good luck and welcome to BYC!

 

[3 girls chickens]

are you talking about 4 square feet in the run or in the actual house per bird. and also what is a droppings board and where should it be located. does it go under the roosts where they lay the eggs??

 

[ChickenToes]

Yes, they should have 4 square feet per bird inside the coop.

You don't need a dropping board, but I do believe it is just a board/tray that you lay underneath the roosts. It's supposed to make cleanup a bit easier, ie, when you clean the coop, you just hose off the board.

The birds will need nesting boxes to lay eggs in; I don't think you would need a dropping board underneath nesting boxes.

 

[Anny]

normally you want 4 square feet inside the coop and 10 square feet outside the coop. To keep happy chickens. And to avoid peaking.

I would suggest putting wood as the flooring and covering it with pine shavings.