JennyHeidewald
Songster
I've been using coffee grounds from a local shop for about 2 years (the stuff at the store was seasonal and I have a lot of chickens). I tried pine shavings, pine pellets, sand, sand+ PDZ, it was all awful in one way or another, dust, felt cold, hard to dispose of. I have had good results with coffee grounds, except for the times it gets moldy when my husband missed sifting out those espresso pucks.
A broody raised chicks on it last year and they all turned out fine, but I am interested to hear the results from the necropsy of the chicks from the ones that died. That is heartbreaking, and I am so sad for the OP of the thread, but best to find out what exactly happened before saying what caused the deaths. Hopefully they can find out what it was, sometimes things are ambiguous. It's good to have all the info we can so we can each decide what works best for our flocks.
That being said, I'd most likely use pine shavings if I ever raised any chicks without utilizing a Broody Momma. I am glad the store mentioned is switching back to pine shavings.
A broody raised chicks on it last year and they all turned out fine, but I am interested to hear the results from the necropsy of the chicks from the ones that died. That is heartbreaking, and I am so sad for the OP of the thread, but best to find out what exactly happened before saying what caused the deaths. Hopefully they can find out what it was, sometimes things are ambiguous. It's good to have all the info we can so we can each decide what works best for our flocks.
That being said, I'd most likely use pine shavings if I ever raised any chicks without utilizing a Broody Momma. I am glad the store mentioned is switching back to pine shavings.