I need some advice on my run

[t843]

I'm new to BYC & chickens so I'm not sure if I'm in the right place to a question or not so please correct me if need be. I'm building a 4x8 tractor run combo & was wondering about using 1/2" hardware cloth for the bottom of the run. Will this hurt the chickens feet when they scratch around on the ground? What should I do?

 

[gander007]

Alright

great to have you joining the BYC flock

BYC has a very useful learning center

 

[Duckopolis]

Glad to have you here! I hope you find everything you need to know and good luck with raising your chickens! Don't forget to take a look at the learning center! For adult chickens, 1/2 inch hardware cloth should be fine if it is kept under control.

 

[TwoCrows]

Welcome to BYC!

I am not sure exactly what you are talking about, but I wouldn't put hardware cloth on the bottom of the tractor. You want them to come into contact with the ground.

If you have any pics of what you have so far, you can post these in our Coop Construction section here on BYC for lots of help from others that may have tractors...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/9/coop-run-design-construction-maintenance

Good luck with your tractor build! Oh, and you might also stop by our Coop/Tractor pages to see how others have built their tractors....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-tractors-mobile-chicken-coop-designs

Great to have you aboard and enjoy all your new adventures!

 

[ThomasMcD]

Personally, where i put my cloth in my run, they were not bothered at all. Even after i put 2" of sand on top of it, they dig down to it all the time. So i would say it isn't a problem.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! TwoCrows gave you some good links to get you started. What people use really seems to vary, some don't put anything on the bottom, some like to put a skirt around the outside of the tractor for predators, others use various sizes of wire, I've used nothing or heavy gauge 1x1" wire on the bottom, so the chicks can't slip out the uneven places, but can still eat the grass, its heavy enough to keep dogs etc out... if you plan on moving the tractor with the chickens loose in it though, you can't really have wire on bottom.

 

[t843]

Thanks for the help the reason for the hardware cloth is preaditor prevention