I'm planning a a new chicken house and want to have aplace inside for food and water. For security from predators, my plan is to have a soild floor (wood frame and plywood), but in the one corner with food and water dispensers, some kind of grating that will allow spills to drain out. This would also help with ventilation (combined with vents near the roof).
I was thinking of using the bottoms of plastic bulb trays, of which I have a few. (Pictures here.) These will support a chicken's weight easily, and in some, the openings are as little as about 1/8" wide. (To make things predator secure, I'd probablly still want to have hardware cloth underneath the plastic grating -- in fact, I was thinking of hardware cloth to cover the outside of the entire plywood floor anyway to prevent wood-gnawing critters from entering.)
I'm interested in others' suggestions.
I was thinking of using the bottoms of plastic bulb trays, of which I have a few. (Pictures here.) These will support a chicken's weight easily, and in some, the openings are as little as about 1/8" wide. (To make things predator secure, I'd probablly still want to have hardware cloth underneath the plastic grating -- in fact, I was thinking of hardware cloth to cover the outside of the entire plywood floor anyway to prevent wood-gnawing critters from entering.)
I'm interested in others' suggestions.