chicks eating moss! help!

[farmergal]

I just switched my chicks from the litter they came in (which was sort of elongated wood shavings maybe?) to sphegnum moss, which is a long fibery moss recommended by one of the chicken books I was reading. But now they seem to be scratching and eating it! Before they were just eating out of the feeder. Help! what do I do?

Lynda

 

[keljonma]

Cover the bedding with paper towels for a few days.
Go back to what you were using.

 

[Mahonri]

Quote:
yeah, what keljonma said.

 

[farmergal]

thanks! trouble is, I can't really use what I was using anymore... it came with the chicks in the mail in the cardboard box and there was only a little bit of it. should I try pine shavings instead? when I went to buy pine shavings at the hardware store, the wrapping said "don't use in enclosed cages," which is why I didn't buy it.... now I just put the paper towels back, but the poop builds up on those pretty fast. any advice on a better bedding? the chicks are now 4 days old.
thanks so much, all of you veteran chick-raisers! it's awesome that this site has so many helpful people willing to help out us newbies...

 

[vfem]

I used this absorbent recycled paper bedding I saw for rabbits when they were little. I use straw in the coop outside. They liked the paper bedding inside kept them extra warm.

 

[swtangel321]

The pine shavings should be fine, thats what I use for all my babies.... The poop doesn't build up as bad either like PT.

 

[Cetawin]

You will be fine on pine shavings just make sure they are ALL pine. I have all my girls (32 of them of various ages) on pine shavings.

 

[silkiechicken]

Yeah, get pine shavings and call it good. Make sure it doesn't contain cedar.

 

[ravenfeathers]

by sphagnum, do you mean peat moss? or do you mean "fresh" sphagnum that's dried, but still green and mossy looking? i've been using peat (which is just decayed sphagnum) for my babies from day one and they've only eaten a little of it with no adverse results whatsoever. if that's what you're using, i'd give them a little bit of grit in a dish and continue to use it. if it's not peat, you might try it. i've been very, very happy with it as a bedding and i'm not sure why it's not more popular. it's super absorbent, completely odor free, and lots of fun for baby dust baths.