Is this a good deal for courtnix pens?

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
No you don't, you don't 'have' to ever have 1/2" wire.

The only problems I would see are the heights of the cages. 9" is pretty low and might hinder their ability to breed. Recommended height is usually at least 12".

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:

Oh, ok....but even for Jumbo Courtnix?

Yes even for jumbo, even for georgia giants bobs

Wrong. The reason everyone recommends 1/2" wire on all sides of the pen is to (hopefully) eliminate predation by something pulling parts of the birds (heads/legs) out of the pen. But you don't have to have 1/2" wire. I had mine in pens that had 1/2" x 1" wire on the floor and 1" x 2" wire on the sides. They worked very well until we acquired a large population of rats

 

[discoveregg]

Thanks again for your help! What if I put a solid floor in the bottom...like plywood with shavings or whatever. Would that make it safer?

And maybe add a barn cat to the mix? My cat has been trained to leave my chicks alone...she has enough voles and mice to keep her more than busy. Maybe I could train a big barn cat to do the same thing? As you can tell, I really want to try to raise some quail - but only if it can be done in a safe and humane manner.

 

[gamebirdboy]

They might do alright on bigger wire if they are away from predators, but I like 1/2 inch the best. Better protection and in my expierience no foot problems...

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
You can put a totally solid floor for sure, but that will also make you have to clean the cage more often. If you plan on putting the cage inside a building you shouldn't have a problem. If you have it on a stand of some sort you can put a 'false bottom' below the pen, about 3" or 4" down. When mine were in smaller cages I had small pieces of wood in their pens for them to rest their feet and they did tend to sleep on it, so I would think if you have part of the floor solid you wouldn't have much to worry about. The pen mine are in now has a partially-solid floor and is not hard to clean, most of the stuff is dry and I just use a garden hoe to pull it out.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
I agree with you, but saying you 'have to have' 1/2" wire is not correct. 1/2" x 1" wire for the floor is also fine as long as you have them protected from predators otherwise. But a raccoon can pull their toes through 1/2" wire too, so keep that in mind

 

[discoveregg]

Quote:
You can put a totally solid floor for sure, but that will also make you have to clean the cage more often. If you plan on putting the cage inside a building you shouldn't have a problem. If you have it on a stand of some sort you can put a 'false bottom' below the pen, about 3" or 4" down. When mine were in smaller cages I had small pieces of wood in their pens for them to rest their feet and they did tend to sleep on it, so I would think if you have part of the floor solid you wouldn't have much to worry about. The pen mine are in now has a partially-solid floor and is not hard to clean, most of the stuff is dry and I just use a garden hoe to pull it out.

Yay! Thank you shelleydove! Yes, thats what I used to do with my rabbits - put in a board and they can rest their feet on it if they get sore hocks. Ok, so that problem is resolved. Now.....I was planning on hanging those cages to the wall. I could put them up by a couple of windows, so they would have adequate natural light - and crack the windows for ventilation. Or should I hang them lower?
What about the barn cat idea? Has anyone tried that?

 

[swheat]

Quote:
I use 1"wide X 2"tall @ each end on my quail pens the floor is 1/2" X 1" This too large for chukars but it works for quail not sure why it happens this way , I think it is partly the way a chukar sits ? the sides are 1/2" X 1 " too.

I am going to build my breeder pen w\\egg roll out from of 1X2 sides, 1x1top and 1/2 X1 on the bottom. Just going to make use of extra wire I have on hand. I think I may have some galvanized sheet metal for the dividers I will use if it is not to hard to cut, if it is I will just use wire mesh.

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
I use 1"wide X 2"tall @ each end on my quail pens the floor is 1/2" X 1" This too large for chukars but it works for quail not sure why it happens this way , I think it is partly the way a chukar sits ? the sides are 1/2" X 1 " too.

I am going to build my breeder pen w\\egg roll out from of 1X2 sides, 1x1top and 1/2 X1 on the bottom. Just going to make use of extra wire I have on hand. I think I may have some galvanized sheet metal for the dividers I will use if it is not to hard to cut, if it is I will just use wire mesh.

I use the 1 X 2 on the ends so I can feed the birds from outside the pen the 1/2 X 1 on the sides so preds will have a harder time getting at my birds ( preds get terminated here

) and the 1/2 X 1 bottoms for the same reason so far I have lost only a coupla birds to a black racer the possums and coons keep getting their tickets punched for a one way trip to critter heaven the snake got in the 1 X 2 end of the cage if you use sheet metal for diveders the males won,t "fight the wire " as bad

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
I use 1"wide X 2"tall @ each end on my quail pens the floor is 1/2" X 1" This too large for chukars but it works for quail not sure why it happens this way , I think it is partly the way a chukar sits ? the sides are 1/2" X 1 " too.

I am going to build my breeder pen w\\egg roll out from of 1X2 sides, 1x1top and 1/2 X1 on the bottom. Just going to make use of extra wire I have on hand. I think I may have some galvanized sheet metal for the dividers I will use if it is not to hard to cut, if it is I will just use wire mesh.

The eggs won't roll through the 1" x 2" wire, you'll have to have an opening at the bottom of the wire for the eggs to come through.