Wire floor vs. hard bottom floor

[mcjessen]

Which is best? We live in N. Idaho and have all kinds of crazy weather. We are building a 3x4x6 coop with a hard bottom floor lined with linoleum. My brother suggested using an open wire floor with a pull our tray to alleviate mold concerns with the linoleum. We had thought about that but wasn't sure if we could pull off building a tray. I would use pine shavings in both options.

So what do you prefer? A hardware cloth floor with a tray or a linoleum lined floor?

 

[BellevueOmlet]

I have wire floor under their sleeping roost so that their night droppings can easily be cleaned up as they fall through. They never walk on that area since it is just under the roost. The rest of the floor is solid so that their feet do not get injured.

 

[patandchickens]

There are no mold concerns with suitable ventilation. And without suitable ventilation you will have all sorts of *other* problems *too*, e.g. bad frostbite.

You can't usefully use shavings PLUS a wire floor, they fall through or the wire is useless because NOTHING falls thru it, one way or the other. And a wire floor in a northern winter will freeze-dry your chickens feet-first.

So, solid floor for Idaho, basically a no-brainer. Doesn't have to be linoleum, just plain painted plywood is fine too.

(BTW, which is the 6' dimension of your coop? And, have you thought ahead to figure out the best way of having WINTERTIME ventilation in it, which is problematic in a very small coop like that? [the answer depends on which direction the 6' dimension is])

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[PapaChaz]

Quote:
i put a solid floor in, then some 3/8" plywood on top as a false floor, fixed a drop down floor along one side. i can drop the door, pull out the floor, sweep/scrape it off in a matter of minutes, slide it back in and voila, clean again! i'm still looking for some scrap linoleum to glue on, it will make spray washing much easier. for now i'm just sweeping/scraping into a bucket and putting it in the compost bins

 

[mcjessen]

Hi Pat - I may have listed my dimensions incorrectly. The 6' is the top most peak of the roof. It'll actually have one 6' and one 5' wall. I think we figured the entire coop will be around 72 sqft IF I did my math correctly. LOL! Max 4 birds - we're starting with 3.

Thanks for the realization that you only have mold issues if you have inadequate ventilation. For ventilation, we plan on two 12" x 5" ( l x w) vents on the back 5' wall. One 12" x 12" window that will open on the 6' wall. The pop door (10" x 8"). Speaking of which...how big should the pop door be? We're going to be raising B Orps which I know are big birds. Do you think what I have listed is enough ventilation???? We're totally new at this so any advice is much appreciated.

PapaChaz - I like your idea. I'll keep that in mind.

BelleveOmlet - I like the wire idea under the roost. Something to consider.

 

[PapaChaz]

Quote:
you're welcome! you can see in the pics even my petite DW can handle pulling it out. i did it in two sections actually, goes all the way across the coop, but the length is two sections. I couldn't find anything on how big to make my pop doors, i put them between the wall studs, and made them 18" high, though i think shorter probably would have been ok. they wound up being 13 1/2 by 18" they didn't have any problem flying up, landing and coming in even before i put the walkramps on

 

[mcjessen]

I take back the total sq footage. DH just said 16 not 72. No wonder I never made it past Algebra in HS. Geezz!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I made my pop door 12" x 12" and it is plenty big enough for Buff Orps.

I'll let Pat talk to you about your ventilation. She is from a colder climate than me so she should have more credibility than me about cold weather ventilation and she is usually pretty good about following up on her posts. I will say I'd add a lot more, maybe with a way to block some off depending on wind direction.

You can look at the bottom of Pat's post and check out those links. I think all three should be required reading for anyone building a new coop.

Good luck!!!

 

[mcjessen]

Thanks Ridge.

Pat - I'd love to hear your input on our plan for ventilation. Ironically, looking through links associated with your page, I've read the info on ventilation already AND we have modeled our coop after your white tractor. LOL!!! Based on your design, it looks like we have enough. Let me know though.

 

[Smittenroade]

I just put hay down and clean it like once every 2-3 weeks. After that I put it all in the compost bin. Thats all!