new coop, small place

[3forfree]

I'm going to build a small,4x4, raised coop inside a 10x10 dog kennel. I have thoughts of having a pop door in the floor with a hinged walkway for the birds to exit or enter the coop. The walkway would be raised at night keeping the birds safe and sound from critters. Will the birds use this opening in the floor, or does the pop door have to be in a wall? Thanks

 

[CarolJ]

I have one raised coop that has the door/walkway in the floor. In my larger coop, the door/walkway in cut into the wall. The chickens use both. I don't think it makes any difference to the chickens. Once they learn that's how to get in and out of the coop, that's what they'll use.

 

[gryeyes]

Yes, they will. Eventually. However, the hole in the floor is space subtracted from the square footage required per chicken: minimum 4 per bird in the coop.

 

[suzyQlou]

One thing you might want to consider with a hinged floor pop-door is the kind of bedding you're going to use in your coop. My darn wood-chips get stuck in just about everything. If you're using wood chips, how will you keep them out of the hinges so the door can close easily? How will you keep the chickens from kicking all the bedding down through the hole?

I'm sure there are answers to these questions because people do use this kind of thing. Thinking about it now will help you plan for it.

 

[3forfree]

I was out looking at the dog kennel where I plan to build, and I think that 4x6 will be better, and have the ramp going out the front instead of the bottom. My plans are for ease of access and ease of cleaning. I think this will work better. Thanks for the help.