Wire Floor in Coop?

[chicksgalore]

I've heard some pros and cons on this. What's the deal?

 

[gumpsgirl]

It might be easier to keep your coop clean, but it is bad on the chickens feet. Could you imagine walking around bare foot on wire mesh all day long? OW! In the winter it would be drafty and harder to keep the chickens warm too. I weighed the pros and cons of using the wire for flooring when I built my coop, but decided to go with a wooden, vinyl covered floor in the end. The chickens all seem happy with it and I know that I'm not hurting their feet. As a matter of fact, we're building our second coop now (it's actually for my little DD) and we will be putting a wooden floor in that one also.

 

[jenjscott]

I have a wire floor and am very happy with it. The coop is high enough that I can clean out from under it and the inside floor is clean. There is no way I could keep it that clean inside even if I cleaned it every day. I live in a hot climate (Southeast Arkansas.) and the added air circulation is a plus. If winter is a problem, I can underpin it with tin to eliminate air flow. I have a good size run and my ladies spend most of the day outside and not on the wire floor anyway. We don't have enough cold weather to keep them inside very much. If I lived in a cold climate I would consider otherwise, but I would still have wire under the roosts, with a droppings board.

 

[gumpsgirl]

Quote:
I really like the wire under the roosts idea! That would be a plus!

 

[Rosebud75]

I've been wondering about the wire floor myself - a hutch style coop sold on Mypetchicken has one, with a droppings board underneath. I would imagine if your chickens are going outside a lot, a wire floor wouldn't be too bad. I like the idea of not having to worry about bedding. In the winter you can line the floor with cardboard and bedding for cold weather.

 

[arlee453]

If you are in Vermont, I'd nix the wire floor idea UNLESS your hutch is located inside another structure like a barn. You will need a coop large enough to hold your birds through storms and bad weather, etc. A hutch won't be large enough, and the wire floor will freeze their feet and/or let in too much wind and drafts in the bitter cold of winter.

I think wire floor coops are great IF:

-You live in a warm climate where you don't have many really cold days

-Your chickens won't ever have to be locked in the coop for any reason (cold, bad weather, etc)

-Your coop is raised. (just don't see the point for wire floors otherwise)

I have wire floors and love them, but I live in NC where it's a rare day that gets below 30 degrees, even in winter. AND my girls only go in the coop to sleep - they aren't walking around in there on the wire floor. They just go in to lay eggs and to roost.

 

[Rosebud75]

Yeah I'm thinking of a garage coop that opens up into a dog run.

 

[sticks22]

I have wire on my floor also, but my coop sets on the ground though. I found that the wire has alot of ripples in it. So I decided to use plastic tent stakes to hold it down. I found that the wire prevents the chickens from digging holes in the dirt which also prevents dogs and other kritters from diging underneath it too!

sticks22
oklahoma

 

[Curlita]

Half of the floor in mine is wire and the other half is wood. I have a lot of straw in there, so really only 1/4 of the area is bare wire. I like it because I just scrape the droppings from the wood area onto the wire in the morning when I let them out. Every couple of days I empty the dropping tray.

 

[chicksgalore]

I would think it would be uncomfortable for them to be on it all day, but mine are usually only in there to lay eggs and sleep.