will deep litter method work with plywood floor?

[technodoll]

Thank you so much for all the awesome information, everyone!

We just moved here 3 months ago and inherited two ancient coops (about 80 years old or so), they were patched up a number of times and at some point one of the coops was partially insulated - there is pink insulation fibre on the ceiling held up by plastic but it's so old, it's half mouse poop

Sooo gross.

No idea how long the floor has been there, at least a decade - it's warped in the corners and not insulated underneath. I doubt it's treated wood, however it is not rotted anywhere and it was hosed down a few times the past years (not by us - there have been chickens here the past five years nonstop, at least -former owners had a flock).

I do pick up the obvious clumps of poop and turn the wood shavings over about 3 times a week with a rake, the hens will scratch to the bare floor quite often though.

Am thinking to keep doing this until the spring, just keep adding more bedding and turning it over while picking up the piles from under the sleeping quarters. They will have access to outside during the winter, for those that can endure the cold and the snow...

Am hoping this is all good, I love my girls and want to keep them healthy and happy!

 

[gsim]

I put down linoleum and that is great for all except chicks. Baby chicks will have splayed legs if raised on a slippery surface. I would take the time to do it. Then you can put 6" of more litter in and then just change it out yearly or mybe semi-annually.

Regards water spillage and food spillage, I took two 36" pieces of plastic guttering and put end caps on them. I made a shelf 6" off the floor to hold them and one trough is for water and one for food. I put an 8 ft length of vinly siding above them and nailed a 2x2 in place a little above the tops of the troughs. That pushes the siding out so that they cant perch on the edges of the two troughs, and therefore cannot poop in them. It cuts down the depth fron " to 2". I also put a 2x4 in the back half of the feed trough so that no grain sits too long back where thdy acnnot get to it. It works perfectly. No spillage of food or water at all.