Need Advice on Coop Floor Design

[gwtx2]

I'm in the process of building a coop to attach to my run and am looking at coop floor options. One idea I had in mind was to have wired fabric (1/2" hole) as the sub floor and a sheet of plywood covered with shower panel about and inch or two below that. The plywood would be hinged and when opened would drop down below the coop for washing. No additional material would be placed on the wire fabric (i.e., wood shavings, straw), so all the poop would fall through the wire fabric onto the shower panel. What are the disadvantages using this method? Would the chickens have a hard time walking on the wire fabric to get to the nest boxes or roost pole? Thanks.

 

[elmo]

Actual chicken poop isn't going to fall through a 1/2" hole. Most of the poop from even our tiny bantams is too large to fit through holes of that size. So basically what you'd be building is a big poop catcher with wires you'd have to scrub to get the caked poop off. Not my idea of fun. And, yes, walking on wire isn't the best thing for a chicken's feet.

This is what I do. I put sand in the bottom of my coop. Then I put a plastic boot tray under the roost to catch the night time droppings, which is the bulk of them. In the morning, I pull out the tray, dump its contents into our composter, hose off the stray cecal poop that's stuck to the plastic and return the tray to the coop. I use a kitty litter scoop on the stray dropping that falls outside the confines of the tray. The sand coats it and dries it, and makes it very easy to pick up the poo and leave the rest of the sand behind.

When I was planning my coop and runs, I brainstormed several variations of the wire poop fall through idea, too. But now that I have chickens, I'm really glad I didn't go that route because I see how impractical it would have been.

 

[MrRushed]

I did back barn doors that open at the perches, It makes it easy to clean.
I thought about a wire floor and had a bad feeling about crusted poop also.
I do have to say I like the sand idea and a kitty poop scoop.

 

[elmo]

Here's my newest favorite gadget:

http://www.google.com/products/cata...og_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ8wIwAA#

This works even better than a kitty litter scoop at getting just the poop and leaving the sand behind. Right now I have 14 bantam chicks, and their poop is so small it falls through the holes in a kitty litter scoop. This special sand scoop gets the job done perfectly, though.

 

[Dr.Doorlock]

I can't imagine an easier coup to clean than mine. I made a wire bottom so the girls could have ventilation for our hot Texas summers. Then I made the coup over it allowing a groove on each side so I could slide a full sheet of Masonite or Tile-board OVER the wire for a closed winter coup. I can reach half-way from each end to scoop out the soiled hay. Yes, hay is the answer and each time I clean it out I put it in the compost tumbler to calm it enough to add to my compost piles. Then I dust the place with Diatomatious Earth and put in new hay. I just finished the spring clean wich was to remove the bottom and hose out the entire coup. Check out my other gadgets and you'll see how easy keeping chickens can be. The link is on my signature below.