i have got a dirt floored coop and run, the whole lot dirt pretty much. the flock will be moving within the next two years which will give me the oppertunity to design my own coop. wire mesh flooring i reck will be good as the mesh i will be using will be for sheep and you can' drive your small fingers let alon your thumb into the smalll hole. the mesh is woven and is bent during manufacture. the mesh allows pellets of ppo from sheep to enter into the cavity underneath the mesh i'm thinking of. the reason i think it is a good idea because my new coop will be transportable so the dust and what ever can seive through and the straw or hay stays behing. the straw or hay will be thick on the floor so most of the time the mesh is not exposed and will easily drie as the water drains through. if the move does not take place i will still a make one anyway. the coop will be avout 30 cms of the ground on an old axle of some sort and will be towed around to a new postion every week so build up will be prevented. another good reaso for this is mice or definetely rats cnnot get through the holes and will have to find another way through and cannot hide day and night. meshing my curnent building is impossible and i want to get more info on 1. if the hay some how exposes the mesh and the chickens are constantly stepping on it can i injure them although the surface is smooth 2. is there other things that can be bad about mesh althought precautions are taken . has anyone got pictures of exsisting floors of mesh as i would like to hear and see if they are actually good
I have a stationary chicken pen with half inch wire mesh flooring that we use for quarantine. We designed it for chicks to grow up in, but it has had many uses. The mesh sits on the dirt and we cover with straw as you described. It keeps the babies safe from digging predators. We have never had any foot problems using it, except that since the birds cannot scratch the actual ground they are not able to wear down their toenails as well. So, we solved that by using concrete chunks or bricks (whichever is handy) at one end. This is only an issue after a few months in the pen. We found that with adult birds most of the mess stays in the pen and doesn't fall through with the half inch mesh, so we do have to clean out regularly when occupied.
