Bedding for indoor brooder

[Smileybans]

By indoor brooder I mean a whole room for baby chicks. And plants but the chicks have taken over the majority of it. I’m currently using newspaper, with blankets underneath for cushion, as the bedding for the older chicks but it gets so messy so quickly. I’m wondering if pine bedding or the horse pellets would work. I’m willing to spread it all over the room to make the chickies happy. My husband hates the idea but anything for my babies. What do you guys think would be the best indoor bedding for a room? Without destroying the floor that is. I was also looking at horse stall mats or the mats for doorways.

This is the room. The box in the middle has chicks from TSC that are younger than the ones allowed to run around the room. I’m wondering about bedding for the whole room. The box has the hydrated horse pellets in it.

 

[Cecisflock]

So cute!

 

[Smileybans]

@JustAChickenLoverOverHere for some reason your post isnt showing up for me but i got an email telling me what you said. I figured pine shavings would work but i wondered if there would be issues I’m not seeing. Would it be harder to clean than the newspaper? i cant imagine it would be any more of a mess. These guys love to shred the newspaper and get it all over.

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

@JustAChickenLoverOverHere for some reason your post isnt showing up for me but i got an email telling me what you said. I figured pine shavings would work but i wondered if there would be issues I’m not seeing. Would it be harder to clean than the newspaper? i cant imagine it would be any more of a mess. These guys love to shred the newspaper and get it all over.

I don't think they'll be able to shred it any more than it already is. How are you layering out the newspaper? Like, the area? Because those guys will throw the shavings around everywhere.

 

[VeryHappyHens]

By indoor brooder I mean a whole room for baby chicks. And plants but the chicks have taken over the majority of it. I’m currently using newspaper, with blankets underneath for cushion, as the bedding for the older chicks but it gets so messy so quickly. I’m wondering if pine bedding or the horse pellets would work. I’m willing to spread it all over the room to make the chickies happy. My husband hates the idea but anything for my babies. What do you guys think would be the best indoor bedding for a room? Without destroying the floor that is. I was also looking at horse stall mats or the mats for doorways.
View attachment 2554647
This is the room. The box in the middle has chicks from TSC that are younger than the ones allowed to run around the room. I’m wondering about bedding for the whole room. The box has the hydrated horse pellets in it.

The coop is so cute!!

 

[Smileybans]

I don't think they'll be able to shred it any more than it already is. How are you layering out the newspaper? Like, the area? Because those guys will throw the shavings around everywhere.

Oh they find new ways to shred it. Every time I look in there it’s shredded more. And they keep eating it. I’m opening it and laying it down. But leaving it in sections. So I’ll open the sports section for example and lay that all down as one pile. Then lay down the next section so it overlaps the sports section a little.

I figured they would throw the shavings around. When I add new shavings to the coop outside my roo goes crazy and throws that stuff all over. But that’s why I asked what would work best. If newspaper is best I’ll stick with that. But I don’t like them ripping it and eating so much of it. They rip it to exclusively eat it. The chicks bathe in the hydrated horse pellets. Do you think that would be okay for the big guys? It only has to last for a month or two more. Until I can move everyone outside that is.

 

[Smileybans]

The coop is so cute!!

My husband would be glad to hear that. He built it and complained the whole time.

 

[wordgirl]

What’s your flooring in the room? Is it something waterproof/cleanable?

I use aspen shavings for my brooder (after a few days of paper towels to discourage them from eating the shavings as newborns) and coop. When I’ve tried pine I haven’t found it to be as absorbent, but maybe I just had a bad bag. Shavings can make things cleaner for the chicks and reduce your need to replace the bedding, as the droppings will mix into the bedding as the chicks scratch around. If you're concerned about cushion, putting down a decent layer of shavings would enable you to take out the blankets you’re currently using underneath. Scooping out the shavings is not difficult as long as you have a good shovel and something to move the soiled bedding to your trash receptacle or compost pile. If you need to protect your flooring, maybe use a plastic snow shovel and clean frequently enough so that you don’t have any wet packed areas.

One thing about shavings is that they are dusty—anything in the room will get a film of dust over time. I’m considering using horse pellets this year to see if they’re less dusty, but as I haven’t used them yet, I can’t say myself.

 

[wordgirl]

This is the bedding I use: https://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/am...horse-bedding/0000000228850?Ntt=Horse bedding

 

[Smileybans]

What’s your flooring in the room? Is it something waterproof/cleanable?

I use aspen shavings for my brooder (after a few days of paper towels to discourage them from eating the shavings as newborns) and coop. When I’ve tried pine I haven’t found it to be as absorbent, but maybe I just had a bad bag. Shavings can make things cleaner for the chicks and reduce your need to replace the bedding, as the droppings will mix into the bedding as the chicks scratch around. If you're concerned about cushion, putting down a decent layer of shavings would enable you to take out the blankets you’re currently using underneath. Scooping out the shavings is not difficult as long as you have a good shovel and something to move the soiled bedding to your trash receptacle or compost pile. If you need to protect your flooring, maybe use a plastic snow shovel and clean frequently enough so that you don’t have any wet packed areas.

One thing about shavings is that they are dusty—anything in the room will get a film of dust over time. I’m considering using horse pellets this year to see if they’re less dusty, but as I haven’t used them yet, I can’t say myself.

The floor is wooden. Like actual wood flooring. That’s why I was wondering about the entryway mats or stall mats.
The room is already covered in a layer of dust from the chicks. But I guess adding to it isn’t a good idea. I didn’t think about the dust factor. I’ll factor in the stuff you linked. It looks interesting and I could probably buy enough to cover the whole room at a decent price.

So far the horse pellets don’t create a lot of dust with the baby chicks. They love to bathe in it and throw it all over. But that’s expected with anything. I think having a layer of something on the floor other than newspaper would be more fun for the older birds.