Bedding ?

[makimotto]

Bedding with a WIRE cage​

Ok, so new to the whole chicken thing, but I just got a old wire cage that hopefully I can take pictures of to show you but,
basically, the cage has wire on the bottom and around some of the sides, and there is a corner for them to have a nest or what not, I'm thinking about installing a nesting box for an easy way to get to eggs, but the chicks are so small and they already huddle together, do they need bedding to stay warm ? Like wood shavings or straw ? I already have a light, but chicks like to dig. Someone said that woodshavings would just go through the wire.
Thanks​

 

[mikecnorthwest]

Please post a picture if you can. Based on your description I'm not sure if what you have is appropriate for chickens. Also it sounds like you have chicks so they should be in a brooder not something you plan on using as a coop. And how many chicks do you have?

 

[makimotto]

Your right, I do actually have a brooder set up in my house with everything they need, and I'm not moving then for a good two weeks (they're already a week old)


Thats what it looks like, but not with the poop tray or the nesting box.
Sorry to be so unclear to begin with, but yes when they are in the coop they will be at least a month old.

 

[mikecnorthwest]

Based on your other thread about one of the chicks having bad feet it sounds like you have three chicks. The coop you have planned is inadequate for raising a chicken, let alone three. I highly suggest you do some research here on this website and look at the other coops so you know what the basic requirements of a coop are and what your hens will need to thrive. A good book to get from your library is A Chicken In Every Yard and/or Raising Chickens for Dummies.

 

[mikecnorthwest]

Another option is to look through the small coop section of this website as most, if not all of these coops would be good for three hens.

 

[makimotto]

Yeah, the measurements of the pen are way bigger than that, WAY bigger, like the guy who gave it to me has five in a coop of this size. I was even thinking about building a bottom and making a ramp to the underneath of the coop. But would wood shavings be good for a bottom to kick in ? Or do they even need anything ?