Wire Brooder Floor?

[flakey chick]

I used 1/4" mesh for my bantam babies. I liked that the dust (and there will be a lot of it) would fall through. Also it would stay relatively dry even if they manage to dump over the waterer. I still found I needed to cover the mesh with shelf liner. That combination worked well.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Quote:
The medicated feed does not give them immunity to cocci. They get the immunity by consuming low quantities of the cocci, which they cannot get if they are housed completely on wire.

Somebody on here recently explained a lot more clearly than I can how the medicated feed actually works, but all it does is act as insurance that the chicks don't get too much cocci in their system. They get sick from cocci when the concentration in their system gets too high. The best way to prevent cocci in a brooder is to keep the brooder clean. Even if you feed the medicated feed, they can still get cocci if the brooder is filthy and the concentration in their system gets too high. A clean brooder will help prevent other diseases too.

I think your solution of having a board with shavings on part of the brooder will take care of the cocci immunity problem but I think it might turn out to be messy. They will kick those shavings everywhere.

 

[Oceanseve]

Quote:
The medicated feed does not give them immunity to cocci. They get the immunity by consuming low quantities of the cocci, which they cannot get if they are housed completely on wire.

Somebody on here recently explained a lot more clearly than I can how the medicated feed actually works, but all it does is act as insurance that the chicks don't get too much cocci in their system. They get sick from cocci when the concentration in their system gets too high. The best way to prevent cocci in a brooder is to keep the brooder clean. Even if you feed the medicated feed, they can still get cocci if the brooder is filthy and the concentration in their system gets too high. A clean brooder will help prevent other diseases too.

I think your solution of having a board with shavings on part of the brooder will take care of the cocci immunity problem but I think it might turn out to be messy. They will kick those shavings everywhere.

The medicated feed works by keeping the cocci from multiplying in the intestine. so they get some exposure but it doesn't overwhelm their system. Sorry I guess my phrasing was just sorry in the last post. We are using unmed feed again this year just not on wire

Count on me to add more info than necessary to a post

nicola - not saying it definately would cause problems just want to make sure OP has all the info. In chic raising it really is a process where everyone finds their niche. Lots say don't give grit to chics, I do and found it to have wonderful results. Just like you have to find your own way to deal w/ pasty butt as well as a host of other chic issues. Welcome to the fray neversaychick

 

[neversaychick]

Quote:
That is exactly what they did! They had a ball doing it anyway.

I do think I'll stay with this setup though. They really seem to like the shavings and we'll just pickup the board and wire to clean it all out.

Thanks eveyone for your help. I'll post a picture after we get it all cleaned out tomorrow!

 

[lceh]

Hey flakey chick, I really like this idea, but do your chicks ever try to pick at and eat the shelf liner? Isn't it kind of a spongy, foamy substance?

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

I use newspaper, topped with paper towels, then the shelf liner on top of that. I only use the liner for the first week and I do so because I've had a chick or two end up with spraddle leg from each hatch. The liner seems to drastically solve that problem. Once that's removed, the paper towels work great and it's simple to lift them up and replace. Eating the liner or paper towels has never been a problem.