Outrun

[Rosiechickenmamma]

I have a coop with a run underneath my actual coop. I have put wire on the inside with grass poking thru and additional on the outside to prevent “critters” from digging in. Do I need to add some straw to this run or will the chicks be okay walking on the wire/grass?My chicks are 1month old and almost ready to move outside.

 

[Shadowfire]

If there's grass, they should be okay. If it's just wire some straw should be provided. Good luck!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Chickens love to scratch, almost from the time they hatch. Chickens on an elevated wire floor tend to do OK but wire on a dirt surface could encourage them to scratch. That will possibly cause a cut and eventually bumblefoot. I don't think covering with straw will help but rather encourage more scratching.
I'd come up with another means of keeping diggers out.
Bumblefoot can be a very difficult problem to cure.

 

[MissChick@dee]

I have wire around the sides of my run. Aprox 6” on the inside and again on the outside. The “middle” is dirt. A critter will dig at the edges or along the fence line. I would rather prevent injuries than treat them. They could injure their beaks as well as their feet. Good luck!

 

[Fishkeeper]

Wire on the floor inside the run is no good, predators just burrow along under it until they pop up. You only need the wire along the outside, but not just on the ground. Dig up a layer of dirt two or three inches deep, lay wire along the sides of the run extending outwards at least two feet, then bury it again.
Predators will start burrowing at the wall of the run, meet the wire underground, and not be able to figure out how to get around it. If you have that, wire inside the run doesn't help any. Should a predator manage to get under your wire skirting on the outside, extra on the inside will only make it go forward a bit more before popping up.

 

[Golden Brahma 64]

I have a coop with a run underneath my actual coop. I have put wire on the inside with grass poking thru and additional on the outside to prevent “critters” from digging in. Do I need to add some straw to this run or will the chicks be okay walking on the wire/grass?My chicks are 1month old and almost ready to move outside.

How big is your coop and run and how many chicks do You have ?
Are you planning on keeping them in this coop ?

The minimum rule of thumb is about 2 to 3 square feet per chicken inside the chicken coop, and 8 to 10 square feet per chicken in an outside run. More square footage is better. Skimping on space requirements for a flock of chickens can cause stress, cannibalism, pecking, and sometimes even death.

Also Wire should be placed around the perimeter of the coop to prevent them from Being able to dig in around the sides.

If you kept the wire on the inside of the run your chickens will scratch their feet away.

 

[Rosiechickenmamma]

If there's grass, they should be okay. If it's just wire some straw should be provided. Good luck!

There is grass.

 

[Rosiechickenmamma]

How big is your coop and run and how many chicks do You have ?
Are you planning on keeping them in this coop ?

The minimum rule of thumb is about 2 to 3 square feet per chicken inside the chicken coop, and 8 to 10 square feet per chicken in an outside run. More square footage is better. Skimping on space requirements for a flock of chickens can cause stress, cannibalism, pecking, and sometimes even death.

Also Wire should be placed around the perimeter of the coop to prevent them from Being able to dig in around the sides.

If you kept the wire on the inside of the run your chickens will scratch their feet away.

Thank you. It just be an easy to remedy. We put it outside and inside. Just need to snip it away from the inside part. I only have 4 chicks.

 

[lazy gardener]

Minimum space requirements: 4 s.f. in coop, 10 s.f. in run per chicken.

 

[lazy gardener]

At 4 weeks of age, unless you live in a VERY COLD climate, your chicks should be completely weaned off heat and living outside now.