Pop Door in the Floor - Good idea or bad?

[imthedude]

I have a couple of last steps to do before the coop is done. One of those is to cut in a pop door. I'd like to cut it in the floor but am not sure if others have had good or bad experience with this arrangement or not. Thoughts anyone?

 

[patandchickens]

IMO it is almost always a bad idea.

Advantages: none. (well, maybe "rain can't blow in", but if you put the sidewall popdoor on the usually-downwind side, and if necessary put a little porch roof over it, rain won't blow in *that* way *either*)

Disadvantages: 1) bedding is constantly lost thru hole, no matter how many sills or whatever you rig up to try to prevent it. 2) the bedding lost thru the hole will, in time, make a muddy soggy mess in the area around the ramp. 3) you lose a HUGE amount of usable floorspace for the chickens to roam, and when people want to do this it is nearly always in a coop that is not overly endowed with floorspace to begin with.

The only time I can see it being at all sensible is if you are working on a TEENSY footprint, with the only run space being underneath the coop, and you simply HAVE no room for a side-access door. Except in that very rare circumstance, do yourself and your chickens a favor, and just build a normal popdoor in the *wall*.

JMHO, good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Kung Foo Chicken]

I've done it on a coop and reconfigured for the same reason. All the bedding was kicked out.

 

[carolinasculpture]

Hi! I ran across this thread trying to do some research and would like any further input. We currently have a 9'x6' coop in our 50'x50' run, but are building a small barn (16'x12') to replace the coop. I am considering putting the pop door in the floor to keep the entry completely dry and keep wind out. Since we are in the south, we have to be concerned with heat for more time than the cold, I thought that the pop door in the floor would keep the floor cool in the summer with the heat leaving through the ridge vent. Also, during the warmer months, the chickens spend most of their time under the coop anyway. In the current coop, I have vinyl on the floor and just sprinkle a little sweet Ps on the floor to make clean up of the occasional poo easier so I am not concerned about the litter clogging up the hole. I have plenty of floor space and plan to locate the pop door under a roost anyway. Is there something else that I am missing? Thank you in advance!

 

[4 the Birds]

A coop pop door through the floor is a poor design choice IMHO. My vote is Bad Idea.

 

[user213590]

Aw I was drawing it up on a napkin in a restaurant, several times really,

 

[carolinasculpture]

OK, I am now leaning toward the side pop door, but would still like to know more about the floor door. Is the bedding the only real issue or is there more? If you have a floor door, had a floor door or are considering one, I'd love to hear from you! I have a floor door in our little "grow out coop" and it seems to work just fine. Anyway, I would love more thoughts on this or pics,before I start building. Thanks to all so far!

 

[nikkisun]

I have a 'floor door' I find it easier because the ramp is then under the coop so not in my way in the run. It's in the corner of the coop so only two sides are open to having bedding pushed out, I've put a fairly high lip around those two sides (approx 5 or 6 inches) and have no problem with escaping bedding. My main concern was 'head clearance' for the chickens coming up and down the ramp but even my two big Australorps manage it with no problem.

 

[user213590]

Wow, sounds like you covered the bases.

 

[g67fam]

Really? Because my coop has a floor-door that has an attached down ladder (which can be pulled up to keep out predators), and it works very well. I'm sorry to hear that others have had bad experiences.