Puting a Bottom on a Chicken Tractor

[Hat Lady]

I'm a chicken newbie. We brought home 6 chicks three weeks ago. My husband still thinks I'm insane, but he seems to be ok with the whole "chicken thing." The kids are really enjoying watching the chicks grow, but we're all getting tired of the icky chick smells in our kitchen. I'm getting tired of cleaning out their cage every day. A good friend and neighbor is building us a chicken tractor, but it's not quite finished yet. I'm eager to have the chicks move out of our house, but I'm terrified that something will try (and maybe succeed) eating them, once they're outside. Right now, the chicken tractor doesn't have a floor neither on the run nor in the hen house. I'm confident that the chicks will be warm enough in the coop at night. I just don't know how well I'll sleep worrying about their safety. Is it important to have a bottom to a chicken coop and/or run, especially if they're only chicks (for the time being)? I want the chickens to be able to scratch, peck, etc. in the grass. Will a wire floor in the run hinder that? Do we need a wooden floor in the coop/hen house? Will it be much harder to clean out the hen house with a floor?

A cute story: A good friend came over today and saw the chicks for the first time. She confided in me, "Ya' know, you can just buy eggs in the store like everyone else. You don't have to make them from scratch." Some people just don't get it.

Thanks for any encourgement or suggestions you might have.

 

[elmo]

I don't put any kind of floor on my tractor, because to me that seems to defeat the whole purpose, which is to let the chickens scratch and peck in the grass. I do attach a wire apron around the perimeter to help deter dig ins and squeeze outs.

I have a secure, stationary coop for night time use, also with a wire apron, but this apron is tacked down securely with landscaping staples in a bazillion places. I'm concerned about night time predators, too. I've got pictures of my setups on my BYC page if you want to take a look. I use sand in both my coops and runs as well as a droppings tray. Cleanup is a breeze.

About that chickeny smell...when I switched to a soy free chicken feed, that odor went away from our chicks.

My hens are raising chicks right now, and I still fret and worry about them. I have one hen with her chicks locked in our closed coop at night, and I bring the other two with their broods indoors in separate dog kennels. I'm keeping the broods separate for now since the chicks are so young. In daytime, they all have their separate pens outside. It's tiring to move them, and not easy to catch the chicks to bring them inside...they move like lightning! But this way, I worry less.

 

[featherbaby]

I would definitely put a floor in the coop and run. If you use large hole wire( like chicken wire) on the floor, the grass comes up through it and they still can reach the ground with their beaks. This way you can move it with them inside and be safe from predators without having to have an "apron" which has to be secured to the ground, making it difficult to move. Even an average dog could get under a floor-less coop and have his way with the chickens....not to mention raccoons, etc. I would put a solid floor in my coop. With deep litter it's a breeze to clean out, I use a giant 'dust pan' from home depot which scoops up a 16" wide row at a time. I put it in a big trash can and use it for mulch in my flower beds. If you;re worried about odor, sprinkle the litter with sweet PDZ from the feed store. It dries up liquids and odor fast.