What do you use for the floor of your coop?

[pattycake]

I have a plywood floor that I cover with straw. I would not recommend it, actually -- whenever they (or I) spill water the wood gets soft and looks like it might get moldy. I plan on putting in a rubber mat or else linoleum or something waterproof before winter hits.

Wire heavily layered in straw might work well, though -- the poop has a tendency to fall through the straw, so it would fall through the wire as well. I love that idea. And if there was a lot of straw, it would be fine for the chicks to walk on. But chickens are heavy and have soft, warm feet -- I hate to think of them spending their lives on bare wire.

 

[Barnyard Dawg]

Both our coops have raised wood floors with cedar chips on the bottom (deep pile). One has a couple of rubber mats and a drop tray under the perches.

 

[tiffanyh]

I have plywood floors with pine shaving but my girlfriend down the road has wire...hers do fine, although something did try to grab ones leg through it once, they think a rat.

Puto ther than that one incidence, they are all fine on the wire for the evening....

Enjoy your chickens!

 

[littlelemon]

Thank you for the replies everyone, you have given me some things to think about. I don't think I will cover up the wire. Perhaps I can find a rubber mat for part of it, and put straw on the rest. I like the idea of the wire floor for ease in cleaning and to keep it predator-proof but I certainly don't want my chickens to have sore feet!

 

[skatcatla]

I've just got their run on dirt with bark mulch chips. I figure when it gets dirty I'll just throw it in the composter.

 

[joebwe25]

Sand.

 

[TreyClark281]

4x4 cement slabs about 20 bucks at lowes.

 

[lakecountychick]

I have a 4' x 8' coop. It's 3' off the ground and has a 1/2 inch hard wire cloth floor. My girls' feet are fine and the spaces are close enough so no little hands can get through and the girls have a roost for night time. It has worked out nice and the coop is very easy to keep clean.

 

[CutestChickenFarmer]

lakecountychick - question for you. My coop has the same kind of bottom you describe, but with a tray a few inches below to catch whatever might fall through. Since my girls are still in the brooder, I haven't dealt with official coop cleaning yet.

Do you use a scrub brush or something to clean the wire bottom? I realize that the bulk of it all falls through, but how do you deal with what remains? Please advise, the question might sound silly, but I'm new at this. Thanks!

Susan

 

[Wolfpacker]

Do you use a scrub brush or something to clean the wire bottom? I realize that the bulk of it all falls through, but how do you deal with what remains?

I use a wire brush and clean it at the end of the day, after they've been out all day and it has had time to dry. Then it just pops right off and falls in the tray.

I also modified mine a bit before they started roosting. I was afraid some racoon would come along and slide that tray out and grab at them, so I put two little slide locks to keep it in place.​