Bedding/Liner question...

[Hopefulloflove]

I will be getting my chicks on the 27th. I have a childs swimming pool that they will be living in the first couple of weeks. I bought some pine bedding, but after reading a lot of posts I am confused and am wondering if that's what I should use due to pasty butt issues. Please someone tell me exactly what I should do...step by step if I need to change after a week or so. I will follow your instructions to the T since I am scared out of my mind that I will do something wrong! LOL

Thanks in Advance!

 

[kfisher123]

I'm new to chicks as well! We got 5 silkies a month ago, and I was scared to death as well that I'd do something wrong! I was going to do the swimming pool too but decided against it after a friend of mine said that after only 2-3 weeks they'd be able to get out so I bought the Chick Starter Kit from mybackyardchickens.com. It has worked great. Especially now, because we had to move the whole set up inside yesterday because of the heat. I've used the pine shavings without any problem. The first week I kept checking their little rears and would use a warm, wet cottonball and q-tips to clean them off if they looked "messy". They will put up quite the protest, but hold firm!

The main thing, is to keep checking on them throughout the day. I stay at home with my 12 and 9 year old so it's been easy having 3 set's of eyes on them. We already have our coop set up, got it from EBay, super easy to build.

Relax! You'll be a great chick mommy!!

 

[LadyB]

I always use white shavings and have never had any problems. I check them in the morning and when I get home, but I have never had a problem. At my store, we also recommend that people use white shavings (in addition to using them ourselves) and have not had problems. Hope that helps.

Don't worry; your chicks will do wonderful and you'll love them!

 

[CinnamonQueen12]

I have raised maybe 20 chicks in a cardboard brooder that i built myself. pine shevings work fine but watch that they dont eat them; it could make them very sick. i usually just use paper twels on the bottom of the brooder until they are 2 weeks old. the only downside is all the shavings in the water and food; just make sure they can eat and drink. i think personally that the pine shavings reduce the pasting up problem. just spot-clean any large pieces of doody that you see lying around so they dont step in it.

 

[Jim2448]

no need to be scared, 1 yr ago i started with 27 1 day old chicks, i used pine bedding and it worked great, I'm 8 weeks into another 6 chicks and also used pine bedding with no problems. when i put them in there permanent coop i used the pine bedding as well, it's called the deep litter method, its great for gardens!!!
anyway, have fun and enjoy the eggs

 

[Hopefulloflove]

When u say white shavings, what do you mean?

I will be putting chicken wire around the pool when they get big enough to jump...
Thanks!

 

[ellend]

If you have access to it, aspen shavings are safer for all animals, though pine are much safer than cedar. Good luck with your peeps!

 

[silky ma]

I have always kept my broody mom with her hatching eggs inside in a pen. The pen had paper then dollar store waffel weave toweling on the flooring. I can keep an eye on mom and babes, they wont see and eat the pine shavings and rarely have I had a problem with pasty but. The rare occasion I use warm water, cotton puffs and for a bad case- hydrogen peroxide and small scissors.

 

[weeders n feeders]

Mine started out on dried bamboo leaves(just what I had on hand) or sand. Only had one with pasty butt and that had nothing to do with the bedding. Just clean the butt and put a little vasiline.
No panicking is necessary. Just make sure you see them eat and drink at least once a day. I'm positive if you see it once a day they are doing it more.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I really preferred using several layers of paper towels to shavings during the first weeks. The paper towels were very easy to change out and keep clean and they keep the water and food cleaner than shavings, (in my fairly limited experience). In my dry Colorado environment, the poop dries really quickly and if I'm in a big hurry, I can grab the top layer of paper towels, dump 90% of the poop right into the trash and put the paper towels back in the brooder dirty side down and have it last another day.

Now that I've changed to shavings I find that I don't feel the need to clean out the brooder quite as regularly but I do need to clean the water and food a lot more often. I also have one girl who insists on eating the bedding. She is the one who still has pasty butt issues at 5 weeks.