We have a huge plastic tub to use for our brooder. I have pine shavings too and ready to go but I am hearing that with moisture on the bottom (because it is plastic) you should put something under the shavings. Someone said newspaper, I have heard papertowel, I have heard shelf liners, and I have heard to put NOTHING under the shavings. Any input would be appreciated. Heather
I've never used a plastic tub for brooding but pine shavings are pretty good with wicking moisture. I put paper towels or news paper under shavings for ease of cleaning(just roll it all up) I've also used nothing under it and never had an issue with moisture on linoleum brooder floors. Brooders should be cleaned frequently so it shouldn't be an issue anyway.
I use a rubbermaid storage container for brooding. I put some shelf liner on top for the first few days to keep the chicks from eating the shavings. I've never put anything under the shavings. I've also never had a problem with too much moisture. Just make sure the top has a nice vent and that the waterer can't be tipped over and you should be good to go. Good luck!
I use swheat scoop wheat cat litter in our brooder(plastic tote also). I didn't use anything under it last year, but this year I put puppy training pads on the bottom, so far it seems to work well.
The shavings should not have too much moisture unless the place where you bought them had them sitting in the rain. If you are concerned you could set them in an open area for a few days to fry out before putting them in the brooder. I used pine shavings the first time I had a brooder. Then the 2nd time I got chicks I noticed that the feed store was using pine bedding pellets instead of pine shavings. It looked much better to me. I switched and now only use the pine pellets. I like them much better than the pine shavings.
