Do I need a towel over my wood chip floor for the first few weeks?

[littleandlewis]

I read somewhere that a wood chips covering a vinyl floor is not enough for young chicks to strengthen their legs and balance. That is was a good idea to lay a towel or similar over the chips for the first few weeks to aid in their leg development.

True?

 

[lazy gardener]

It all depends on how thick the chips are. If they are several inches thick, that would be fine. If they are just a thin layer, so that they would slip, not so good! The idea is to have what ever you use for bedding be stable enough that their feet don't slip out from under them! You'll find that if you go to the feed store to buy chicks, they will be on a layer of shavings. While some folks are concerned about the chicks eating the shavings, if they have feed available it shouldn't be an issue. They will explore everything in their environment with their mouths, but won't eat the chips.