Changing from shavings to sand in the brooder.

[JustClucky]

Your chicks are absolutely adorable! I read about sand and switched over in my brooders but a couple days later, one of my chicks went cannibal on me. Later, I read that that's common with sand in the brooder. Honestly, I don't think sand is worth it. Finding one of your precious chicks all bloody and injured just isn't worth it to me. Plus, sand stinks BAD. lol Anyway, I hope you have better luck but PLEASE keep an eye on them.

This all went down while I was sitting in the next room. I didn't hear a thing.

Just offering a little advice that I wish I had read BEFORE my baby got hurt.

 

[ninabeast]

Thanks, JustClucky, I will keep an even-closer eye on them. That must have been horrible!

It's been about 24 hours and they all seem perfectly happy so far. We did have some poopy butts this morning, more than usual (perhaps because the down is fluffier? I don't know.) I treated with a careful Q-tip application of olive oil around the vent, as I have seen recommended here. I guess it helps the poop to slip past the down. One of my Brahmas has taken offense and was plucking out the down around her vent, but whether to get rid of the poop there or the olive oil, I can't tell. She seems to have stopped now, and is eating and drinking as normal. The other girls seems to be leaving her little red bum alone, praise be. Also, their feet seem to be cleaner, even the Brahmas.

I will say that there are a couple of things I would have done differently. I would have prepped the brooder with tons of time to spare, because when the Play Sand comes out of the bag, it is a little damp. I would have spread a bag at a time, to allow it to dry in between bags. There is dust with sand when I clean the poops, but it isn't bothering my lungs the way the pine shavings did. Perhaps because it's non-organic. And the poops are very easy to clean out, I must say.

As it is now, they all seem very happy scratching for their crumbles and nestling down in the (now) warm sand. So far, so good!

 

[Komaki]

I use both. Shavings all around. Then a shallow pan set off to one side with sand for them to act like grown ups.

 

[juliette2009]

I have used shavings, then pine pellets, then sand...I just replaced the sand and am back to pine pellets. The babies semed to really like the sand, but I found it dustier, and had to clean more often, also. The biggest problem I had was the poop drying on the chicks nails, which was causing irritation and curled nails, if I didn't catch it early enough...it dried like concrete ans was very difficult to get off. I like sand for my grown birds, but I think it's pellets here on in for the babies.

Juliette

 

[ninabeast]

I use both. Shavings all around. Then a shallow pan set off to one side with sand for them to act like grown ups.

I just did the opposite: a small box of shavings on the sand to see if they prefer it. They sure like to kick it around, but it's sand at naptime. I'm so confused by the whole thing.

On the plus side, we start coop construction today! I know that sounds late, but we're building inside a barn, so two walls and two doors are already there...​

 

[mshirk]

I find it interesting that some people who use sand talk about the yucky low-tide smell they get. I'm wondering if the sand in different parts of the country is different, and that's why the discrepency? If my sand smelled gross AT ALL I would have switched to shavings.

Sand is SO HEAVY. I have to ask the Home Depot people to not only put it on a flat cart but load it into my car for me. Then DH has to unload it into the garage, and toss a bagful into the run when I need it. However, multi-purpose sand here is only $3.06 / bag! Six bags (enough to redo ALL the sand in my run twice over) was only $18!

I find the sand keeps my chicks feet very clean... the sand seems to rub off any poo that gets on their feet. Sort of like beach sand on wet feet... eventually it falls off. This is great, as they like to sit in my lap or on my shoulder (new this week!).

 

[7L Farm]

I used sand in my newly hatched coturnix. They poop way more than chicks.I used a colander to sift the poop out.