bedding for chicks

[Handmadens]

What is the best type of bedding for chicks. Can I put them on a wire cage or will that hurt their feet?
Thanks
Diane

 

[triggfamily5]

My vote is for pine shavings (after a few days of paper towels on top)

I don't know about the wire, sorry.

 

[Lil_Miss_Farmer_Chick]

I'm using the pellets sold for horses bedding. I really like them, no dust yet that I can see or feel. I put paper towel down for the first few days. The pellets are large enough that the chicks can't eat them.

 

[Festa X11]

We are experimenting with kiln dried sand and so far it is great, just use a kitty litter scoop to clean them out and top up sand if needed. It also holds warmth from the heat lamp

 

[Renie'sPeeps]

I used plastic bens purchased from Walmarts as brooders.. lined the bottoms with rubber nonskid shelf liner... then placed papertowels over that for the first few days.... Then switched out to pine shavings. It has worked pretty good for me.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I favor kiln-dried pine shavings. No need for paper towels.

.....Alan.

 

[Pennyhibbitts]

I use a cage with a blue plastic bottom sold at Tractor Supply Store..no bedding! Pine bedding is very dangerous to baby chicks. I have seen a piece of it (dampened) stuck in my baby chicks neck. I had to remove it and treat the area with hydrogen peroxide and anti fungal cream for a week. I was lucky..my lil Fluffy lived through it. I use paper towels on top of clean old dish towels and change them every day.. Do not keep water in the bin overnight. I put a long wood dowel about half way up and drape a dish towel over the top to form a pretend mother for them for the first two weeks. In the evening when they start fussing I just put them under it and they seem to like it plus it keeps them warmer. Be sure to keep it 95 degrees for the first few days. Then you can lower the temp by five degrees every other day.

 

[HBuehler]

We hatch them by the hundreds here they go straight from the incubator to pine shavings..no paper towels.We have never had one chick with a problem from them and very seldom loose a chick-when you hatch as many as we do you will loose one or two no matter what.
I have also used the pellets with no problems..only thing I didn't like is if they get in the water they become a big mess..the wide pine shavings are easier to get out.But,depending on your set up the pellets are easier to store and easy to use.
My outside brooders do have wire bottoms and when they are tiny I usually cover it just so their little feet don't slip through and intrigue an older chicken or my JRT that may be under the brooder digging around.Once they are a little older they do fine on the wire bottoms.

 

[mayberrygirl]

I started out with pine shavings then switched to the pellets, LOVE them!! I have them in the coop and in the brooder.

 

[Carpe DiHen]

Has anyone tried litter bedding for small animals (ie: hamster bedding)??