Best flooring???

[cluckcluckluke]

whats the best flooring for my 2 month (8 week) old pullet hens. I Have them i quite a large wire floored cage and i heard that young pullets need a soft flooring. I would like to know whats the longest lasting, softest and easiest to clean flooring for my pullets. I am going to have about 4-5 in their at one time.

Thanks, CluckCluckLuke

 

[Judy]

They will be happiest if they can get out onto the ground at least during the day -- grass or weeds are ideal, dirt or sand is fine, too. Most people have a solid floor coop (dirt, vinyl, concrete, whatever) covered with a layer of litter (pine shavings, hay, dried leaves -- most anything.) Wire floors can cause foot problems.

 

[mickey328]

While ours were in a cage pending completion of their coop, we put a piece of corrugated plastic on the floor to protect their feet from the wire. It worked great! For one thing, it actually kept the bedding IN the cage, LOL. They were able to have good solid footing and could scratch and re-arrange the bedding to suit them with no damage to it at all. Of course they were only locked in the cage from dusk to dawn, but we left it open during the day so they could come and go at will (we tarped over it for protection and shade).

 

[cluckcluckluke]

thanks heaps, i think ill line it with some thick plastic tarp similar to mickeys idea then ill lay a mix of leaves dirt and hay over for them to scratch in. thanks a bunch

(that's one less thing to worry about now

) oh and also i will be letting them out for most of the day, i just didn't want to leave the door open all day because i don't want my older hens to get in their.

 

[mickey328]

Great! Just make sure it's something they can't damage by scratching or be able to peck at and ingest.