Bedding advice needed - chicks eating pine shavings

[UtePassChickens]

we have 5 chicks at idk bout 2 months old, we did not use paper towels and where we bought our chickens they gave us pine shavings to use in our brooder, the chicks ate some shavings and they ate their food aswell at 5 weeks i moved them to their coop witch heated up till this week do to snow and cold up here in the mountains. they are fine and ate well. since moving them to the coop I changed from the cheap 1 quart chick feeder to a five gallon bucket feeder which I love - it keeps poop and debris out of their food and keeps food in the feeder not all over the place, when they get a bit larger i will be able to hang it and make it mouse proof as well! after much research, I have yet to see a better idea, to clean food and off the floor! here is a pic of what I made for my little chicks... you search online 5 gallon bucket chicken ideas or the like, but all you do is cut 4" hole in bucket take a 4" PVC 90degree elbow, with saw cut one end off elbow and stick it threw the hole so it is about 3/4" from bottom, i caulked the outside of the pvc to the bucket to create a nice seal, let dry then fill with feed place lid on and your good for a week or month depending on number of chickens. if you have lotta chickens you could fit two holes per bucket, and even add PVC pipe to top for even more feed holding capacity. but this makes chickens eat from within the bucket so no spillage all over the place!

 

[UtePassChickens]

oh yeah, in the coop we use pine needles and mixed some of the left over shavings we have. in the nests I will use straw, but not until they about to start laying for now i just threw the rest of the pine shavings to use them up.

 

[lazy gardener]

Hi all!

I need some advice on bedding.

We have one brooder with two month-old Buff Opringtons and one brooder with 3 two-week old RIRs.

We started out with paper towels over pine shavings and that seemed to work great at first, but the chicks just love to peck, peck, peck, as they should, and they are actually eating the shavings that escape from beneath the paper towels.

When I take the paper towels up, they kick the shavings around everywhere, and some get into the food dish (even though I've elevated it on a big wooded platform along with the waterer) and they eat those.

I've played around back and forth with paper towels vs. no paper towels. I'm learning that the chicks like contrast and anything that contrasts to the floor they will eat!!

I can't seem to win either way! I'm concerned they aren't getting enough food since they're filling up on shavings. We will be using deep litter in the coop with pine shavings in a few weeks so I'm concerned they won't eat their food there either.

My only thought was to create a gutter-system to feed the chicks - to elevate the food so that the pine shavings wouldn't get in there. I know their instinct is to scratch and peck and I don't want to hinder that, either.

Any other thoughts??

Thanks so much!

I'd use paper towels for a day or two, then immediately switch to shavings. Really, there's no reason to not start with shavings. In that case, I'd put their crumble on a paper plate, or a piece of cardboard with the edges folded up, and be sure to introduce them to the crumble, the same way you do their water. A finger tapping on the crumble will direct them to food. An other good thing to do for new chicks is to give them a source of grit early on. They may be eating the shavings because they are hard wired to look for grit. In the absence of grit, they will eat what ever they can get hold of. Give them a plug of sod (be sure it's not grass that has been treated with insecticide/herbicides. Lay it upside down right on top of the shavings, and they'll go nuts over it. They'll get: little insects and seeds, maybe even a worm or two, greens, grit, minerals, bacteria and fungus to give their guts a healthy start on their immune system (best to do this within the first 2 weeks). They will also dust bathe in it when it dries out a bit.

 

[runt325]

Do u think that paper stuff that I cann buy at tractor supply will work

 

[lazy gardener]

Never used or seen it. Will it tangle in their feet?

 

[runt325]

No it is loose paper stuff for small animals

 

[lazy gardener]

I have no idea.

 

[Jensownzoo]

Do u think that paper stuff that I cann buy at tractor supply will work

If it is like Carefresh (commonly used for small animal bedding) then yes it will work for chick bedding. I had some that came with a guinea pig cage that I bought (for something other than pigs) and I used it. They may still eat it though. My chicks will eat smallish shavings, but after a week old I am supplying them with grit every time I give treats so as long as they shavings can pass out of the crop, the gizzard will take care of them the rest of the way.

 

[cscigu]

I am very low tech, and a non-worrier when it comes to chickens. I actually probably swing too far that way. When I was a kid, my great aunt would toss everything to the chickens, and say, "they won't eat anything that will hurt them". I know that is too simplistic, but still it gets reinforced when I see how chickens will ignore some things they shouldn't eat. I take good care of them, I'm not a hard nose.

In brooders, coops, wherever, I use straw of hay almost all the time. Whatever I have around. I don't know what is best, its just what is available. Since I raise cattle, hay is not usually a problem. I also have a situation where the local feed store owner is glad to let me rake up all the loose straw I can handle from their storage area. Both mash down well in the brooder, so feeders don't spill too bad.

In the coops, I try to use straw as much as possible. To me, it doesn't get as sloppy as hay when wet.

I did break down get a bag of pine shavings over the winter for the coop, and really liked it. I am a cheapskate, though, and have a policy of not buying anything I can scrounge for free. Anyway, I've always done fine with simple hay or straw. Even in cities its not hard to find a bale either at Atwoods, Tractor Supply, or any feed store. It also goes a long way, and is easy to dispose of in flower beds, compost piles, etc.

A side note: the floor of my big coop is on a hard clay area. When it rains hard and long, it will seep in. Ick. I tossed in a couple buckets of sand with the straw last time, and have really been pleased with the result. Not sure if sand is a no-no due to fleas, mites, or something, so I tossed some diatomaceous earth in too. (given to me by father-in-law- didn't buy) I've been very pleased with the result. My chickens go in only at night, so I wasn't too worried (surprise) about the sand.

 

[Eldergoddess]

When I go to the feed store I bring a big bag and we put the straw bale in the bag, it keeps the car clean and its easy to move around without it coming all apart on you once you cut the cords.

I use straw for my big girls and pine shavings for my little girls. Its normal for them to peak at and sometimes eat the smaller shavings, it shouldn't hurt them any (never hurt any of my girls). I keep my waterier on a 4"x6" wood block and they just jump from the shavings up the half inch to the woof platform their water sits on, They still get shavings in their water but no as much as they do if its sitting flush with the "ground".

As for shavings in their feed, they are going to kick shavings every where no matter what you do. Just check on them often when they at little and clean out their feeder. I use the long plastic ones with the hinges since they are easiest to keep clean and to open to get the shavings out. If you are worried about them kicking shavings into their food dish just put it on a block of wood as well. they are perfectly able to jump up onto the wood to get to their food, and it will give them a bit of an extra work out.

I have tried the pine pellets before and I will say they are just OK, they are a pain in the butt to clean more so than straw or shavings and as soon as they get water on them they become a nasty mess.

BUT when it comes to pine shavings it comes in two sizes flake and fine. You want the FLAKE kind not the fine.

As for using straw for chicks, I know many people do. It just comes down to personal choice, I don't like the straw for the little little girls since our straw is not a fine crop and has really big stalks still (which is fine for the big girls or large animals like horses), and I feel like it just doesn't make for good footing for them. And when they are little they can get hurt so easily.

I know anyplace that sells stuff from hamsters and the like will have pine shavings in the flake kind though they might be more expensive than buying them from a feed store. Any feed store that sells chicks, should have both straw and pine shavings. Even if your local feed store doesn't have straw (for whatever strange reason) they should be able to point you to a place that would sell it.

As for sand, it doesn't hurt them one bit. Its just extra fine girt. Though I wouldn't use it for chicks bedding, I know many people who keep sand bottom coops and are pleased with the results. Sand can really help if you live in a wet region (like WA/OR), but you want to make sure you get clean sand, don't go down to the beach and bring home 10 5 gallon buckets of sand and then dump them in your coop.