the pat 2 days my coop has been infested with some type of gnat. i serched the sits but the gnats that have been menchened are alot biger than the ones i have. these are so small you cant see them un less i look up in the lite. i cant even see them on me without looking real close. they do bite...
yes dont shoot a slug. if you must use the 870 use 00buck shot. i would use the 17 rim. place your shot right in there ear. in the body may or may not kill them instantly. and they will run off. in the ear will drop them were they stand
i had the same set up that you have and i thought the same thing. i levt the cardboard up untill the chicks were big enough to start moving it around. about two weeks. i did have about 2" of wood shaveings on the floor though.