What kind of wire for floor?

[jkg]

I live in a warm climate, so I built our coop with a wire floor. My intention was to both better ventilate the coop for the hit summers as well as let the poop fall through to the ground. I used I think 1/2" square mesh, which I now realize is too small for the poop to fall through, so I want to replace the current wire with something with bigger holes. I would need to balance the hole size with the chickens ability to walk across the wire or to safely land on the wire when jumping down from a roost or nest box (about 2 ft jump from either). Anyone use this? What size opening and gauge wire works best? I was thinking 1"x1" or 1"x2" 14 gauge. Where did you source it and were you able to find small quantities? I've seen it online but never less than a 50 or 100 ft roll where I only need about a 4'x6' section.

 

[CarlaRiggs]

We get really hot weather here in summer, also. I didn't want a wire floor, though because I don't think it's good for the chickens' feet. I have plywood, with pine shavings 2" or 3" deep, which I clean out once a week.

It may be better to put a board under the roost, and clean that off daily. Not a big deal, really.

The ventilation can come through open windows covered with small hardware cloth; if it gets cold during winter, I close shutters over them. You'll want ventilation at the top of the coop, also so the hot air will go out.

Carla

 

[jkg]

normally I would agree with the sentiment about wire floors being worse for the birds' feet, but our birds are only in the coop long enough to hop up to a perch or nest box. The coop is never closed to the run and the chickens spend 98% of their waking hours on the ground.

 

[NancyDz]

I've always thought this flooring looked interesting if I was to build another coop.


http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplie...nt-ft1_poultry_housing_flooring;pgha2215.html


Nancy

 

[CarlaRiggs]

JKG,
Our chickens only use the coop for sleeping and laying eggs, also. And their run is also open to the coop.

I have standard hens, and they land pretty heavy on their feet! I'd be afraid one would catch her foot into an opening in the wire. One reason I like the pine shavings on the floor is because it softens the landing.
Also, I can't imagine using any wire just because of the nightly fertilizer deposits underneath the roost... if you know what I mean.

No matter how large an opening in the wire, it's going to get dirty. It's easier for me to clean out the pine shavings once a week and toss them into a composter, or the garden, then to clean off dirty wire.

Carla

 

[jkg]

Carla - I appreciate the opinion, but I'm going the other direction anyway. I have my reasons... there are other threads here on the subject and the conclusion is mixed - some sharing your view and others saying wire works fine in climates where the birds are rarely in the coop. I'm going with an "open" floor of some type because I need the ventilation, and more importantly, I know my family's habits and know that we can't reliably clean the coop every week or even every month (need that chicken S* falling straight through to the ground).

Nancy - thanks for the tip on the Farmtek grates. Those look perfect, although a little more expensive than I was hoping for. I'm going to search around and see if I can find something similar for less cost... will post something here if I find anything.

Any other ideas?

In hindsight I should have spent more time designing our coop and could have built it with the roost resting directly over a compost pit.... oh well. Next time...