Chicken coop floor

[Harratl]

Hello folks
Finally got a house and some land in Tennessee
Getting ready to build a chicken coop not a tractor for now
Question is should I use a wooden floor or a wire floor pros and cons plz
and if wire what kind of wire
Thanks for being here
Alan

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

Hi Alan...

I'm glad you are able to think about various materials and have time to thoughtfully design and construct your chicken coop...

Before I talk about flooring materials, here is a link to my page on chicken coops as here, I explain many aspects of chicken coop buildings that some people may not have considered: http://www.fredsfinefowl.com/basiccoop.html

There is also a rough sketch you can click on and print, save or send, which shows basic doop framing.

Since it seems that you are going to build a building that will occupy one spot, I can't imagine putting a wire floor down... all wire one day will rust, unless you are going with some sort of stainless steel or aluminum. Think of clean up issues... if the floor is wire and earth, then scooping out the soil with the droppings and litter will be complicated by the presence of wire.

Let's assume that the wire is for critter prevention, for a coop which sits in direct contact with the ground? Wood-Ground contact is always a tough one... eventually causing the wood to rot or mold.

I always say, let's get those buildings off the ground and support them with pressure treated 4x4 posts and trusses if you need them. I show buildings with trusses or simply supported by posts on my site so you can see the visual differences. A larger coop should have trusses, the smaller shed types can do with mounting directly on posts.... by smaller, I mean 8 x 8 feet which would be good for 16 full size standard chickens.

Once off the ground and framed up with joists, my favorite flooring is sturdi-floor... there may be other trade names in your area, but this stuff has a tongue and groove feature which allows you to construct a multi-ply floor that is stable and has no holes or openings for critter entry. The tiniest mouse cannot get through this floor.

Then you simply frame up your walls on this floored platform and finish your coop.

I always say elevate the coop... no mice or other rodents can get under it to live in seclusion. Air flows freely beneath the coop and prevents damp problems. Chickens have a great place to stand out of the rain or sun and will dust bath beneath an elevated structure.

There will be no need to trim grass or weeds along a elevated coop, as the chickens will keep all that down and there is no wall-to-ground border to deal with. Support posts are set in a foot or so back from outside walls, this means when you mow, you mow under the coop edges freely... it's just plain a good idea in virtually every way I can think of.

I personally love building coops and I'm so excited when someone here in my town invites me to come and design one... easy and fun to do. Simple or complicated in final appearance, the principals are the same. Dig holes and set your posts one weekend and let them set. Then the following weekend you can build your coop on those supports.

Hope this helps... and have fun Alan... show us what you come up with!

Fred

www.FredsFineFowl.com
http://www.fredsfinefowl.com/basiccoop.html
http://www.youtube.com/user/HTCSWEOD

[Harratl]

Thanks so much Fred
Your reply was great and we read your site several times and are incorporating a lot of it
Will send a picture later when we get it built

Thanks again Fred
Alan