I have my 26 chicks in 2, 50 gal plastic boxes (13 in each). I have been using all pine shavings for the entire bottom and it only lasts about 3 days before I really have to change it. It is fairly cheep but seems to be a lot of waste. I saw in the feed stores the chicks are in small wire cages...is it wise to keep them in cages instead of the box, and only put a small section of shavings ? Also, I read that the chicks will damage there feet over time if on slippery or flat flooring...is this true ? Thanks for the help.
The rubbermaid containers with shavings is a method used by many, quite successfully. There is no "better" reason to use cages with wire flooring. You will still have to scrub off the poo from the wire and empty the poo catcher. There are others that use the wire bottom brooders successfully as well. It just comes down to preference. As for slippery flooring, it's not recommended due to the babies developing splay legs. That's where the legs look like they are doing the splits. It's because they can not get a grip on the floor to stand and run properly.
Absolutely it is preference of the caretaker. Either way, you'd end up scrubbing between batches of chickens. I personally like to raise on wire because that way the babies arn't constantly standing in their own waste, and because then you don't have to feed them medicated feed and they can build up natural immunity. It looks like it would be painful for them to stand on, but they have dinosaur feet for a reason and mine have always been happy Hope that helps!
I started off using a rubbermaid thing, but Ive switched to wire bottom. My chicks with the feathered legs always looked dirty and would get their waste on thier legs. With the wire bottom, they cant stand in their own waste now.
The pine keeps the smell down. I clean the brooder several times a day, so my babies are not walking in it.
I have tried wire, but really didn't like it for my seramas, so went back to pine pellets. I'm trying sand with my current batch of babies, but I'm still liking the pellets better.
