Wire mesh or plywood floors in coop??

[OcoeeG]

Newbie here. Great to see all of this wonderful information in one place.

I am about to build a coop for 4 or 5 chickens. I am going to build it inside an old outbuilding on my girlfriends land. I have plenty of material and space onsite. Because I am augmenting an existing structure but basically starting from scratch I can do things as I please which is nice. I was wondering how people felt about wire mesh vs. plywood and litter floors. If I was to do the mesh I would create some sort of tray underneath the floor to catch droppings. However, the structure is rather old and drafty and a mesh floored coop might not be as cozy as they want to to be. We are in N. Georgia so it isn't too cold but cold enough to be a concern.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

When I was first building my coop I had the same problem. Eventually I went with the plywood floor for aesthetic and useful reasons.

1. Walking on mesh isn't very comfortable for the chickens if they are walking on it for most of the day rather than being outside. Could also cut their feet if the wire isn't cut carefully.

2. Safer than mesh, in that animals can't bite or reach through to get the chickens, but may depend on the wire.

Hope I helped enough. Good luck with your project!


oh and

 

[Colored Egg Farmer]

Wire has its downfalls like hurting the chickens feet. If you could could put wood so they could stay on it above the wire that would help. I have tried both ways and found they both work well. The wire especially helps on the cleaning end.

 

[supermom]

I have BOTH! I have wire under the roosting poles so the droppings fall to the floor. The rest of my coop has plywood covered with hay. My coop is raised on cinder blocks so I can just rake out the mess once a week. The hens also like to hang out under there for whatever reason.

 

[lovemychix]

I would try to find a scrap on linolium flooring. I am so glad I did. The poop doesn't stick to it.

 

[purr]

we have plywood with linoleum on top it makes it a breeze to sweep