New to BYC with coop flooring questions

[Egg celent]

I am in southeast Ohio and am new to keeping birds of any kind. I have a 3x4 box I made of red cedar and plan on making it into a coop. I plan on having the coop sit off the ground about 15 to 18 inches and making the lower area accessible for the 3 buff Orpington hens I want. I have seen coops with slide out floors but none that have wire flooring so the droppings can fall to the ground. Is this okay on the birds feet? What size/gauge wire should I use? Will the Ohio winters be too much for them with an open floor?

 

[QuietPony]

I was wondering about this too. I was thinking of doing the deep litter method on top of wire. This way, the birds can play around in whatever falls through the holes and goes under the coop and with the littler being deeper, it will be better on their feet.
But is this idea a good one with harsher winters? hmmm.
You would think I would have had everything thought out by now. (time is running out, as they will out grow the brooder in about a month. lol)
But the more time I spend here, the more crazy ideas I come up with.
My man is less than impressed with me right now.

 

[Egg celent]

Tractors have floors that let droppings fall but I am not sure if the birds are kept in them year round...

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Wire floors in coops are not a good idea, especially if you plan to use any bedding

 

[rachelwillow]

Wire floors in coops are not a good idea, especially if you plan to use any bedding

Can you explain? What if you aren't using bedding? Is hardware cloth too hard on their feet?

 

[JackE]

Can you explain? What if you aren't using bedding? Is hardware cloth too hard on their feet?

If you are thinking of using hardware cloth for flooring. Save yourself some headaches and just put in a solid wood floor. Because, what you will end up with, will be a lot harder to clean, than just scrapping off a flat hardsurface floor. Chicken crap will not just fall through the wire. It's usually a bit bigger than the 1/2" square holes. And it comes in many different consistencies, from a relative solid, to mush. You will end up with chicken crap piled up on top of the wire, packed into the wire, along with some bits under the coop. You'll need a pressure washer to blast that mess out of all those little squares.
And, if you go with some other wire screen flooring, with bigger holes, you open up a whole new can of worms. From chickens cutting their feet on the wire(Bumble foot), to predators terrorizing them from underneath. No need to reinvent the wheel, just go with a conventional floor. Wire floors are for hampsters.
Jack

 

[arcatamarcia]

I agree with JackE. I don't think the wire mesh floor is a good idea for either ease of cleaning or for the chicken's feet. I know from personal experience they don't really like walking on it. I agree that solid wood with some kind of bedding is better. If you're worried about sanitation, I'd go with sand.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote: Listen to JackE

 

[rachelwillow]

Ok thanks. We built the coop with a hardware cloth floor and removable plywood floor on top. We were thinking that way can hose out the inside if need be and will drain. Then we thought, why not leave the plywood off in warm weather. But we'll stick to leaving the plywood in.

 

[Egg celent]

Thank you all for the responses! Any advice on the plywood flooring? I have seen boards with some sort of laminate cover (to make it easier to scrub off I'd imagine) any thoughts on a board cover? My coop is 3x4 and I was trying to figure out if I can rig a hole in the floor of it that I can pull a rope on to pull up the bottom of the ramp to close up the hole or if I should put a hole in the side of it the traditional way so to speak...

Thanks! I am quickly becoming a fan of BYC!