bedding, pine pellets

[Silver Fox]

Pine pellets (?) seem to be better than wood shavings. It smells better and the chicks don't kick it into their food and water as easily.

My question is how often should I change it out in my 2 1/2 ft by 4 ft brooder? I have 10 chicks.

Brooder made from an old moving box

Pine Pellets in my brooder

 

[Southern28Chick]

They don't try to eat it? Does it absorb liquid well? I've never used those so IDK how often you should change it. I had pine shavings and 25 chicks so I was cleaning it out every other day.

Just make sure they're not eating it, it can make them very sick!

Edited: Cute chicks by the way!

 

[TundraChick]

Wonder if this would work well in the coop. I use this for my cat litter, it does really well with the absorption and odor. Its just compressed pine. You can get it retail for cats as feline pine, but I go to TS and buy the kind bagged for horse bedding (much cheaper).

I have been wanted to check pine pellets made for pellet stoves to see what the ingredients are. If anyone has a bag let me know. It might even be cheaper!

 

[verthandi]

I use softwood stove pellet for my horse stalls. They are a little tricky to find as most of the bags aren't marked what is in them.(most are hardwood or aspen so you have to look for the pine type)They can be sprayed with water and they break down into sawdust. About 5.50 for a 40 lbs bag. I do use them in the cat's litter box, a lot less expensive then Feline Pine.

They also break down as urine and spilled water lands on them. I have not tried them in the coop or a brooder. They are pretty big for chicks to try to eat, but I didn't know if they would try to eat them when they break down.

 

[Southern28Chick]

They are pretty big for chicks to try to eat, but I didn't know if they would try to eat them when they break down.

Oh Ok. I didn't know if they would break if pecked or not but if they are hard to break then they should be fine.​

 

[Silver Fox]

I bought the pellets from the feed store where I picked up the chicks and that's what they use. It comes in 40# bags and the original intended use is bedding for horses. So far I've noticed that it absorbs water well and it seems that the chicks don't try to eat it. The smell of pine is greatly appreciated since the brooder will be in my kitchen until we move in 2 weeks.