I have 7 chicks in house at about 5 weeks and I notice a smell only when bedding needs changing. I change bedding fully not less than once a day. I do not observe that the animals themselves have an odor when held at a normal distance, but I haven't stuffed my nose in one. If they truly have an odor, I might be concerned about contamination with droppings or a health issue? Does your brooder have enough square footage?
After a first week using paper towels as bedding to prevent splay leg, I went to newspaper. I spread a layer down several papers thick, and throughout day, since I work at home, put a fresh layer on top of poo to give them a clean surface. Once a day, I do a complete change of bedding by simply rolling up the layered papers as a unit and folding over. Any food and dust remaining is rapidly swept using small dust brush/pan. Chicks now know to get out of the way of fresh layer going down. I have not heard of any reason not to use newspaper when they are past the first few days, and my chicks seem happy and healthy with good legs. They have a perch, etc. They do experiment with scratching/tearing up the top layers, a good source of fun, and have eaten a few strips and bits. I have given grit.
Takes only 2-3 minutes to do a complete bedding change and bedding is free. This has worked for me since I have a very small number, and am using an oversized dog crate elevated to a height that I literally can stick my head and shoulders into cage to swap bedding. I can see where a larger number would do best on shavings. I notice at the farm store with large bins of chicks that they are constantly replacing shavings to keep things fresh.
