Brooder Set Up and Maitenance

[JesikaD01]

Ok guys we have 14 1-2 week old chicks and are new to chickens. When we went to pick up the chickens from the farmer he had his brooder set up in rubbermaid tubs with a layer of shavings under a sheet of paper towels. He had more then 14 chickens in there but said he only cleans it 1-2 times per week. This was set up in his kitchen/living room and didnt smell or anything.

we have been home for 4 days and I have been changing it every day even though we have a much larger brooder with less chicks.

Was he just crazy? What do yo do?

 

[HEChicken]

Age has a lot to do with it. The older they get, the more often I need to clean the brooder.

 

[nurse_turtle]

For new hatchlings, I use a plastic storage tub with a layer of fine pine shavings covered by a pillowcase. I usually use flannel so the chicks can get a good grip with their feet to prevent splay leg. In a day or 2 when the pillowcase is dirty enough to change, I simply flip it over and wait again. By then, it's been about a week and I remove the pillowcase and allow the chicks directly onto the shavings.

 

[ChickiesInUtah]

We too have a plastic bin. We have butcher paper down topped with shredded newspaper (just run some newspaper through the shredder and dump it in, easy!).

We clean ours out completely every other day. I can't remember why we decided on that.

 

[Keggen]

I have a pretty big brooder and noticed that as the chicks have gotten older I need to change it out more frequently. At first I would just throw a fresh layer of pine shavings on top of the old stuff, but now they are pooping a LOT more and they also scratch and kick the old and new all over together. It makes a big mess! I'm trying to figure out what I should do with all the pooped on shavings. I think I need to set up a compost pile somewhere.

 

[SkylaSilkie]

I keep my chicks out side, they have so much fur, I some times sneeze! I keep mine in an old rabbit cage, with a heat lamp. I put moss and beding, but they sleep on the moss, I think because they think it has more heat conduction.