Can I put my 4 and 6 day old quail on shredded paper?

[chickenfried]

I have had them on paper towels and it is getting to messy to quick with 27 of them in there was wanting to know if it would be okay to put them on shredded paper if it won't hurt them.

 

[underground chickenman]

That will get just as messy, in my opinion. I would put them on pine shavings. Even then, you have to stir it up or change it out every couple of days. These little guys poop way more than chicken chicks and they don't scratch as much so the poop just mats on top. I will defer to those with more experience than I have, but my guess is shredded paper would mat worse than pine shavings. Some people on here swear by the rubber shelf liner. They just pull it out and shake it clean or wash it everyday. I may try that next time. Maybe have a rotation of two or three sheets cut to fit so I can pull one out, replace it immediately, wash the dirty one, let it dry and put it back in on a subsequent change.

UGCM

 

[JJMR794]

Why Shredded Paper? === To Messy And What A Pain In The Bum! No--- Just Wait Til They Are At Least 6 Or 7 Days Old And Put Them On Solid Paper.


Now Before All Y'all Nay Sayers Get Wound Up... Follow Me Here On This 1... Once They Are 72+ Hrs Old All The Tendons And Ligaments In The Hip And Hock Joints Are "set"... The Legs Are Stable From This Point On. As Soon As Jr Has Suficient Coordination Skills, Usually About 6 To 7 Days Of Age. There's No Reason They Cant Be Tearing Around On Newspaper Instead Of Shavings( At Least Ways This Has Worked Here For Years)

 

[optic1]

The sticky shelf liners are ok for a few birds, When I ran 25 in a box, it gets messy quick. Then off to the back yard to hose off, then I really didn't like the idea of the washing machine, running that would probably cost more than shavings. Plus I do not like the idea of possibly transfering diseases in my home.

The funniest thing we did was pull the shop vac hose in the window and suck out shavings into a garbage can. Very quick cleaning, but we can't figure out why chicks kept disappearing. Still working on that one.

 

[aprophet]

I have weeks like that