Peachix & wire flooring

[melissa508]

I had never put my peas on wire flooring before, until this group of chicks.
They are on ahardware cloth raised floor. Yesterday I went to look at them & one of my BS faces was covered in blood & there was blood everywhere..I thought a critter got in. And to make it worse all the other peas & guinea were pecking at the red. I called DH to come help me find out what happened & to my surprise it wasnt a critter- somehow it caught its toenail in the wire & must have scratched its face or somehow got on its face- theres nothing wrong with its face or eye...I was sooooo relived, i would have been heartbroken...ther was sooo much blood all over their pen.

So we decided to cover the wire floor with hay & remove the net barrier between their pen & the baby pen- which were ducks, guinea & chicks..but i moved them into general population.
That pen doesnt have a dirt floor since its in the barn, it had 2 levels, 1 is wood, the other is cement . Well last week i found the guinea all bloody & when we caught him- he had no toenail..so wire...im not liking it very much.

Are there ways to prevent them catching their toes? & not beating up their feathers.

Also this pen has a door leading to outside the barn in which theres a covered run..when is it safe to let them out?.
Before reading this forum i usually kept my greens inside til about 3 months old, then put them in pens with dirt..i never wormed them either..until now. I dont think we could have had a worms issue- everybody was always healthy except once i awoke to find one laying on the ground on its back- 1/2 cc of tylan 200 2x daily injected into the breast for 10 days cured it.

 

[deerman]

Your should be getting at the age to go on the ground.

Yes they can get a toe caught, I use small wire the first few weeks then larger wire 1/2 x 1.

I also place something on the wire, so they can get off the wire to rest their feet.

I still think the wire , does save alot of the peachicks. Know some of the big breeders put them on wood floors after 1 or 2 months.

 

[fgdiii]

How long before you can take them off the light? Mine are 8 weeks old now and although I have one light for 12 peas in a large semi enclosed area, I dont want to loss them to the cold. I am in Va and it might get to 50 at night.

 

[gypsy2621]

I have my 27 day olds on 1/2 x 1 wire with no issues.
I do only have 2 chicks though so not much running chasing tussling over space.

I was also wondering about when to wean them from the light,
There are so many conflicting messages as to the when its safe.
I have read wean off 5 degrees daily, read weekly, some say not to take them off the heat completely till 4 months of age.
I am just down the road in NH and we have has some really chilly nights and moderate days as well.
I am proud to say I am afraid to put them outside in such unstable weather patterns.
Weather says we can be going back up to 80 in a few days but the night chill may drop to low 50's Ugh
I am thinking of building an indoor cage for them and keeping them inside safe and warm all winter. lol

Deer Man any suggestions for us?

 

[deerman]

Yes its 5 degree every week, start with 95, so at 8 weeks old thats 55 degree. Mine are outside still on wire,no heat at 8 weeks.

Now if only one or two peachicks, would keep heat on them, as a group they help keep each other warm.