Brooder Flooring

[strictlyliable]

Hi, this may be a dumb question but I also just wanted to post and find out.

So my partner and I are getting chicks soon and we are having a fairly heated discussion on how to make the brooder. She being from Maine says newspaper is alright. Me reading Keep Chickens am opting for a tight grated wire so poop falls through. Then I hear/read people talking about splayed legs. Then what about cedar/pine/wood/tree shavings? And pasting up?

I guess I would just like some opinions on what is the easiest to clean and best for your little chicks health.

 

[Kung Foo Chicken]

Everyone uses something different.

I went from a cardboard box with pine shavings to a cage with small wire on the bottom because it stays cleaner to me and seems to correct minor leg problems. They have a hard time walking on newspaper unless you shred it up. Don't use cedar the aroma causes breathing problems.

 

[onedozenphyllises]

We use a fairly deep layer of pine shavings. We spread paper towels on top of the shavings for the first three days or so, and they walk fine on it. After a few days we remove the paper towels and they just have pine shavings. I've heard the when the newspaper gets wet (from droppings) it becomes slippery and hard for them to walk on. I've personally never used it, though.

 

[mikenandrea]

Hubby just built me one... we used 1/4" hardware cloth for the bottom..

 

[cafarmgirl]

I used pine shavings in mine because they so love to scratch and well, be little chickens. Plus when they are ready for a nap you'll notice they lay flat out like little dead things. I thought the shavings made a nice, soft, cozy bed for sleeping. I put newspaper on the very bottom, under the shavings and about once a week it was very easy to just roll up the whole thing and change it out, we just sprinkled some fresh shavings on top each day.

 

[willheveland]

We use a kidde pool with pine shavings in it. We use newspaper on the shavings for 2 days so they know what their food is(sprinkled on top of the newspaper). Every few days adding on a top dress of shavings. Once it's really bad just change it out(but by then they are ready for a bigger space) good luck Will

 

[strictlyliable]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I think pine shavings might be the way to go in the end. It would be nice to add some chick poop and browns to the compost anyways. Ohh I can't wait, I can't wait.

 

[cmom]

I agree with the other posts. Everyone is different. I have wire as I believe it stays cleaner as you said because the poop falls through the wire. I have never had any leg problems with my chicks. I used to brood them in the barn but now I have a coop for the chicks so I put the brooder in their coop. For the first couple of days I just keep them in the brooder with plenty of feed and water. On the 3rd or 4th day I open the brooder door and let them decide when to come out and explore their coop. For a week I just let them get used to their coop as they will be in it for a few months. After they have been in their coop for over a week, I open their pop door to a mini run and let them decide when to come out.

Here is a link to a thread with pictures of all kinds of brooders.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6233