Chicks eating bedding

[Leigti]

Hello, today I got three new baby chicks. I am using pine shavings and they seem to keep trying to eat it. They ate their food really well at first but now they prefer the shavings. This can't be good for them I'm assuming. This is how I have it set up so far, any suggestions for improvement? What can I do to stop them from eating the shavings? I've tried putting them down in front of their food dish and they pack at it for a while then go back to the shavings.

 

[FridayYet]

For the first few days I cover the shavings with paper towels to get them eating, drinking and walking well. I also like to sprinkle some food on the paper towels to give them something to peck at - and make sure the crumbles aren't too big. I crunch some up so there is a lot of sizes to chose from.

Good luck with your new chicks! They are adorable.

 

[gizzyntaz]

Put some paper towels down over the shavings for a few days. Make sure to cover all of the shavings with the paper towels - buy lots! That should solve it.

 

[Leigti]

Thanks, I guess I will be putting down some paper towels. I used wood pellets the last time I had chicks and they didn't seem to have a problem. But they will dissolve down into sawdust which I know isn't good for them either. Maybe I can find a good paper towel sale this weekend

 

[Leigti]

I am going to feed them fermented food, right now it is just been soaked. The feed I got is almost like sand. Very uniform size and very small.

 

[gizzyntaz]

The dollar store usually has paper towels. For this purpose I buy the cheapest possible - less than a dollar a roll if I can find them. I think I used paper towels for about a week, but they get messy really fast so I used a lot.

 

[Leigti]

Of course after I make this thread the little boogers decide to eat their food. Oh well, I'm going to put paper towels down anyway. I'll check out the dollar store.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Maybe give them the choice of having the wet food and some crumbles on the paper towels. I think one reason they peck at the shavings is that in the mother raised state the mother takes them about and shows them tiny bits to eat.
I think they may be looking for tiny bits that are good to eat.

 

[Trefoil]

I use puppy pads for the first week or so.

 

[Leigti]