wire cage

[JFG]

My daughter (enroute to grad school) brought home her buff silky chicken, Frances. Frances lived in AZ at about 5000 ft elevation and now is in SE TX where there is a lot of heat and humidity. We live in an urban area. My husband is building a wire cage for Frances. We plan to cover one end of the wire cage with a tarp to decrease the amount of rainfall into the cage and leave a small dog crate for her to snuggle in at night. I plan to place dirt or sand over the wire floor and let her out in the evenings for a bit to wander around the yard and get some exercise. The cage is about 8ft long and 3 ft wide and sits directly on the ground. Currently she is residing in a large Rubbermaid tote in the house and is taken out 2-3 times a day to wander about the yard. Can she thrive in this type of cage? Does she need to be acclimated to the heat and humidity gradually? Will the wire bottom hurt her feet? I would like to get a coop eventually, but am hoping the wire cage could be a temporary solution. Thanks for any advice to this new chicken lover.

 

[Soaring Chicks]

as long as she can get out of the sun and weather she should be ok. Not something you want to keep in year round. wire will not hurt her as long as it is no sharp edges. Letting her free range in yard will help you out a lot on letting you use wire cage till you get something else for her. best of luck to you.