Two questions

[Caju]

1. What is the consensus about linoleum ion plywood floor of small raised (3 ft off the ground) henhouse? Space is about 16 square feet. It will just be for sleeping and egg-laying, as food will be hanging underneath. I was thinking it would be easier to clean, but I'm afraid (a) that mold and moisture might sneak in between plywood and vinyl and I won't know about it, and (b) scraping poop off it might actually be worse than off plywood. Anyone with experience want to weigh in?

2. I was thinking of suspending a poop-board under the roosting bar, which is a 2x4. How wide should it be? Is most of their poop going to wind up on the 2x4 anyway? I put the 2x4 so they will sit on the 4" side, as I heard people on here saying that was what chickens preferred (unlike other birds that can actually grasp a narrower branch). Any thoughts on this?

I'm posting a few pictures to show how it looks so far. I'd be happy to answer questions if you can't tell what something is!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/48269_2010_latemarch_017.jpg

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/48269_2010_latemarch_009.jpg

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/48269_2010_latemarch_001.jpg

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/48269_2010_earlymarch_007.jpg

 

[FlashPointFarm]

I haven't heard of anyone having problems with lenolium. I have concrete in mine, so don't know. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

It sounds like you are on the right track with your coop!

 

[CityChook]

Cute coop!

I just put a good coat of (semi-gloss) paint down on my floor. It looks like you've painted (or at least primed?) your entire interior. If you decide to do deep litter inside the coop, then scraping isn't really necessary. Most of the poo gets mixed up into the shavings and is dry by the time it reaches the floor. You just sweep it out. Some spots are bound to get poo on them, but I found that when I'm cleaning (twice a year) I just spritz the surface with vinegar/water, wait 5 minutes and rinse with plain water and the poo comes right up. Not so much with a bare wood floor.

Now, if you don't decide to go with deep litter, the linoleum might be a better idea. I have no experience here.

Roost is fine - chickens like the 4" side. For the poop board, I'd make it 18 inches wide at least. They sit on the 2x4 roost and poo off the side - mostly at night.

 

[patandchickens]

IMO, the vinyl flooring thing is about a wash one way or the other. It is very slightly easier to clean, but at least in larger coops DOES tend to accellerate rot a bit. Honestly, I have both and I would not install vinyl flooring again, I think that primed and semigloss-painted plywood is just as good a floor and easier, cheaper, and arguably a bit more durable.

That said, I do not think it would necessarily be a mistake to use vinyl either, if that's what you prefer. Especially in a smaller coop like that, where it is easier (er, *should* be easier) to ensure that water is not getting leaked or spilled down between the vinyl and the plywood.

My poop boards are 14-16" wide, and they catch most of the poo. If you want to catch absolutely all of it, you would need wider, but IMO you get to the point of diminishing returns, you know? My chickens hardly poop on the roost at all, as they sit crosswise to it with their butt ends hanging off behind, so to speak.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Caju]

Thanks, everyone. I think I'm going to leave the vinyl flooring out. I did paint with exterior paint that I got for free at the household hazardous waste drop-off facility. I think I will give it another coat with a red semi-gloss I also got for free there. Maybe I'll try it without the droppings board at first and see what I think.

Do you think my 2x4s need to be nailed in place or can they just sit there? I'd like to make them easy to remove and clean. Will the hens jumping up on them push them around? The boards seem to sit pretty solidly in place.

Thanks,
Caju

 

[CityChook]

My roost is mounted in "cradles" on the walls. It is secure and doesn't move around. But when I want to clean, I can simply lift it out. Works well for me.

 

[12GAGirl]

My coop is only for my flock to sleep in since they have a 10x20 run and stay in it all day and evening until dark. My husband built my coop up off the grown about 3ft and it is outside of the run. Husband used wire for the floor with beams running in the floor for the chickens to walk on but most of them just hop from the door to the perch. This is very easy to keep clean since the poop falls on the wire and all I do is push the poop through the wire and it falls on the ground. I then a couple of times a month just rake up the poop from under the coop and take it to the compost pile. At anytime you can open the coop and take a deep breath and never smell poop. It works well for us and I have yet to have any problems with preds tearing into the coop.