A lot of poo for a single chick!

[laputa]

I have my 3 day old lone survivor of my recent hatch in a 1 by 1.5 feet rubbermaid homemade brooder, and man she is already pooping everywhere, and the paper towl I put on the bottom gets dirty fast and needs to be changed almost daily, otherwise the children start to yell and laugh "oh she is stepping on her own poo, hahaha...".

She does eat a lot, but that is only one chick, now I can not imagine people who have a few dozens or 100+ chicks in one brooder, how do you guys manage to keep the bottom clean? How many brooder floor area do you guys allocate per chick? Paper towl or some kind of bedding? How often would you change it?

 

[lux_interior]

I've never had quail... but I've had lots of chicken babies in brooders together... they do poo a great deal. I always use pine shavings for the bedding, it absorbs the poo somewhat so they arent walking in it as much... I also add sweet PDZ to the shavings. Just sprinkling that in there gets rid of 100% of the smell, because after a week or two, they start to stink a LOT! good luck!

 

[laputa]

May I ask what is sweet PDZ? I foresee I could use some in the future.

 

[lux_interior]

it's a stall freshener, similar to stall dry. Stall Dry, or DE would also work well, but Sweet PDZ, is the only one of the three that my local farm supply store sells. If you can find any of those products, they will all help keep your coop fresh and clean much longer. Most any agricultural supply stores will sell sweet PDZ or stall dry, DE is harder to find and more expensive.

 

[SportTees]

Some people say cheap food makes them poo more than normal

 

[laputa]

I am feeding a 28% pheasant crumble, the highest protein feed I can find in local feed store. Price is also higher than the rest. Though the theory is interesting.

 

[chickabator]

me too I have never seen something poo so much except cornish x's and I have hatched and raised many chicks

 

[shelleyd2008]

I have used pine pellet bedding, mixed with pine shavings, in my brooders. The pine pellets absorb a lot of wetness, and they really cut down on the stink. After the first few days they don't need to be on paper any more. I have 48 quail chicks in a tote that is about 2' by 3 1/2' and haven't had to change it yet

They are about 5 days old.

 

[dave3877]

i switched to a big brooder box with a wire mesh (hardware clothe)floor. i use the 1/4x1/4 inch mesh its great and doesnt hurt thier feet if you dont leave them in there forever. i used bags and bags of pine shavings over the years and they do work but if you dont chage them every day or 2 you will get maggots and all sorts of other nasties in them. here in texas during the summer its hot enough outside i can let the sun warm them during the day and use a bulb in the box at night if needed. since i switched the mortality has gone way down. its worth the try

 

[farrier!]

I just finished up on a brooder. I went with a wire floor too....

My 11 look pretty lost in a brooder planned for 50-100.
I do see where I will need a second growing pen when I ever get a large number to finish.

Quail almost grow as you look at them! Lots more droppings then any chickens...