Baby chick bedding

[Shawnee Moon]

I have a chick brooder area set up on the concrete floor of the chicken house. It's a circular enclosure made of metal, bent around into a circle and fastened. The Red heat lamp hangs overhead.

My boyfriend put many layers of newspaper down as that's what his late wife had always used, but then I read not to. He said that the chicks might eat sawdust and shavings, and the newspaper can be cleaned so easily, just remove the top layers and fresh sheets are underneath.

I'm just planning on 10-15 chicks I think, .. Is newspaper really that bad for them for a few weeks? The floor will have a bedding (I ask about it in a separate post).

Thanks.

 

[iamwarner]

Newspaper alone might be too slippery when wet for little chick feet, causing spraddle leg. You can place rubber shelf liner on top of several layers of newspaper to give your chicks something to grip. It's also easy to clean. Once they figure out what is food and what isn't, you can use other bedding (never cedar!) instead of newspaper/shelf liner.