Wire Bottom Coop?

Some ppl use wire on the bottoms so the droppings can be washed out easily. I've read that if they are going to spend much time in the coop that it's not really good on the bottoms of their feet. This is especially true with smaller chicks and breeds. Just what i've read. Hope this helps. Welcome to BYC

 

I raise bantams and they are all on wire (hardware cloth).
They are housed in large off the ground pens.
Been raising them for 8 years and never had a problem with legs or feet.

Most of mine are on wire from 2 weeks old to adult i find this keeps them much cleaner than a solid bottom.

It also keeps chicks from eating their own droppings this aids in preventing cocci in chicks.

I don't know about standards but for bantams it's perfectly okay.

 

oegblady, do you give your bantams small areas where they can get off the wire to give their feet a rest if it's bothering them? That was suggested to me when I proposed making a brooder for the juveniles, and putting in a wire floor.

 

Chickens like to scratch so much - what would they scratch if they were on wire?

I would think the wire would get covered with wet poo.

 

I use a wire bottom coop with no problems but during the day they are outside most of the time.

 

I have a wire floor in one of my coops. I just rotate the chickens on and off the wire floor. I let them out just about every day anyway. I have never had a problem with the wire floor.

Darin

 

Thank you everyone for the good info here on this topic, it will help a lot!