Hardware Cloth on bottom of the run...

[roxymoxin]

The run is elevated in the air about a foot. So it has nothing under it. Our neighbors have the same thing and they have lost no toes. I'm wondering if I should put plywood under it and then full with gravel or something. I hope they get the nails back I feel bad.

 

[Michael OShay]

You need a layer of fine pea gravel or dirt on top of the hardward cloth. Do you have a picture you could send so we can see the floor of the run?

 

[roxymoxin]

 

[Michael OShay]

I didn't realize you had them on elevated hardware cloth. Not only can that be hard on their feet, but predators can grab at their toes as they protrude through the wire bottom of the cage.

 

[ChickenRisa]

Interesting topic, I have a big rat problem in my coop, I may have to go back and put some hardware cloth down underneath. Does anyone know if rats will climb through the chicken wire on the sides to get in though? Will I need to hardware cloth my whole coop??

I hope your chickens toes get better, roxymoxin! Poor babies. I can also second the predators grabbing things through the wires, I had a rabbit's toes get chewed off through the wire floor by a predator during the night. Maybe that's what happened to your chickens, not the wire doing it?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I have started many baby chicks in a brooder pen with a 1/4 or 1/8 inch hardware cloth floor so the dropping would fall through. While a 100% hardware cloth floor that is 12 inches off the ground creates a few extra callouses once the chicks and their mom was on free range everything was fine.

Scratching is an instinctive thing with chickens and they will scratch regardless what type of floor you have. But I would be afraid that the dirt and sand would encourage more scratching than a plain elevated wire floor would and that could lead to more pulled toe nails and grossly callused feet.

 

[roxymoxin]

I found a few of the cut wires sticking up and placed material over it. So far no more cuts. Just healing up one little foot. I may put a closure around the bottom to percent them from getting under but that is why we elevated it so they couldn't dig under. They are in the yard a lot so hope that gives them enough scratching time

thx everyone!

 

[hbhoffman]

Hi! If the hardware cloth was cut it can have small wire pieces like this:

[]__[]___
[]__[]___
[]__[]___
sticking out from where is was cut or cut and pieced together. You can re-cut it off or carefully bend that one wire back and forth and it should come off cleanly. We just did this for our new pen. We did wrap it all except the "roof" (which will become the coop) in hardware cloth. It takes a bit of patience but does come off cleanly so no one family or poultry- gets cut. And after getting cut once, it was enough to make it worth knowing that in the future, it shouldn't happen so easily.
Sorry they got hurt!

 

[Michael OShay]

Interesting topic, I have a big rat problem in my coop, I may have to go back and put some hardware cloth down underneath. Does anyone know if rats will climb through the chicken wire on the sides to get in though? Will I need to hardware cloth my whole coop??

I hope your chickens toes get better, roxymoxin! Poor babies. I can also second the predators grabbing things through the wires, I had a rabbit's toes get chewed off through the wire floor by a predator during the night. Maybe that's what happened to your chickens, not the wire doing it?

Yes, rats will climb through chicken wire on the sides to get into the coop. You need to hardware cloth the entire coop.

 

[Michael OShay]

I have started many baby chicks in a brooder pen with a 1/4 or 1/8 inch hardware cloth floor so the dropping would fall through.  While a 100% hardware cloth floor that is 12 inches off the ground creates a few extra callouses once the chicks and their mom was on free range everything was fine. 

Scratching is an instinctive thing with chickens and they will scratch regardless what type of floor you have.  But I would be afraid that the dirt and sand would encourage more scratching than a plain elevated wire floor would and that could lead to more pulled toe nails and grossly callused feet.  

Chickens do scratch instinctively and often but not deeply. Just make your dirt layer the depth of a 2 X 4s width and they will not catch their toes on the hardware cloth.