I was trying to think of ways for the poop to drop through the bottom of the coop, so we can easily collect it for compost. Is it appropriate to just use mesh or chicken wire for the floor of the coop? I don't want to hurt their little chicken feet
It's not a good idea as it will hurt their feet. HOWEVER, that said, it would be possible to put it under the roosting area [say along the back wall] and have no floor there. Might need to angle the wire, depending on how your roosts are set up to discourage them walking on it. At any rate, the roosts is where alot of the poo will end up being.
Some people have mesh floors and like them ok. It is a possible option if you are in a year-round warm climate. However, remember that poo will not all fall thru the mesh (chickens have BIG poo!), you will have to scrape or hose it through. The simplest solution IMO is a droppings board under the roost, just a plain solid board about 14" wide, that you scrape off into a bucket every morning, voila. BTW, for composting purposes, unless you have a lot of high-carbon material from elsewhere that you want to mix the poo with, it is not so good to have just pure poo (like you get from a mesh floor or droppings board) -- you NEED a certain amount of carbonaceous stuff, e.g. shavings, mixed in for it to compost properly. Good luck, have fun, Pat
Thanks for all the info. So far I've got shredded newspaper, coffee grounds and filters, and poo mixed with natural bedding from the brooder ready for the compost pile. I think I'll put the shavings I have in the bottom of the coop and just scoop it all out at once, then add the whole thing to the compost pile.
