OkieUpNorth
In the Brooder
- Jun 5, 2017
- 11
- 2
- 16
My husband recently finished the covered run for our new chicken coop, and per his research, decided to use 1/4" wire mesh. We live in a rural area that has lots of predators, so we were very concerned about keeping things out. It looked great.
Cut to the first few days in the run, and one pullet had a chipped beak. It was so small, not needing any real medical attention, but tonight I heard one of the chicks scream bloody murder when she got her beak caught in the wire mesh. I rushed over to help her, but she ripped her beak out before I could get to her, and she cracked her beak.
I performed first aide, and she's ok. We'll be watching her, and in the meantime, my husband put up a skirt around the bottom of the run so that the chickens can't try to peck at bugs and get their beaks caught. But it's not a permanent solution.
They're not full grown. They're about 6-7 weeks old, so their beaks will get bigger. I'm wondering if this mesh is something we can keep but limit their access to until they're bigger and their beaks can't get caught, or if some other solution needs to be made. Has anyone used 1/4" mesh in their run and had this problem?
Thanks!
(concerned chicken mom)
Cut to the first few days in the run, and one pullet had a chipped beak. It was so small, not needing any real medical attention, but tonight I heard one of the chicks scream bloody murder when she got her beak caught in the wire mesh. I rushed over to help her, but she ripped her beak out before I could get to her, and she cracked her beak.
I performed first aide, and she's ok. We'll be watching her, and in the meantime, my husband put up a skirt around the bottom of the run so that the chickens can't try to peck at bugs and get their beaks caught. But it's not a permanent solution.
They're not full grown. They're about 6-7 weeks old, so their beaks will get bigger. I'm wondering if this mesh is something we can keep but limit their access to until they're bigger and their beaks can't get caught, or if some other solution needs to be made. Has anyone used 1/4" mesh in their run and had this problem?
Thanks!
(concerned chicken mom)