We bring in waste sand for the corrals and I just scoop up some clean sand to use for the chicks. It has some really small gravel in it too. But any kind of sand will do.
I keep my babies in the house for the first 2 weeks and I don't want the mess. They will try to dust bathe in the spilled feed. But as soon as they are moved out to the big brooder they get a shallow pan of sand to dust bathe in. It's also a source of grit for them.
A wading pool is not a good...