Cleaning Routine Brooder and Beyond

[lulubonbon]

I am curious what everyone's cleaning routine is?

How often do you clean the shavings, etc?

Thank you in advance!

 

[griggy]

I'm doing it about every 3 days not because my chicks like to tear up all the newspaper and dig down to the bottom of the box. They are a mess

 

[Blooie]

I'm doing it about every 3 days not because my chicks like to tear up all the newspaper and dig down to the bottom of the box. They are a mess

Holy cow! Maybe I'm overdoing it then! My routine is:
Day one, take the babies out, take everything out of the brooder, roll up the newspapers and toss, (bedding and all) put down fresh papers and bedding, clean feeder and waterer, a little sand in one corner and a treat. Babies go back in.
Day Two: Babies out, everything else out. Use a dustpan with a rubber squeegie kinda thingy on the end to drag all the yucky bedding to the center of the brooder, scoop it out, and then do the fresh shavings and clean feeders and waterers, sand and treats.

So every other day they get a clean from the papers up brooder. Overkill?

 

[griggy]

I am sure it depends on how many chicks you have and in what size space they are in as well.

 

[Blooie]

I am sure it depends on how many chicks you have and in what size space they are in as well.

Yeah, you're probably right. I have 18 2 weekers in a brooder 4x5. I also have an amazing 2 1/2 year old granddaughter with some health issues related to her Spina Bifida and she's here with me almost every day, so I tend to be a little more, um, well, ahh, paranoid? LOL

 

[grampsjim]

I don't think you can overdo it. We clean ours every day to every other day. We have 6 (week old today) in an empty solid molasses (for cattle)
plastic tub. I actually think it helps socialize them. They seem to like it.

 

[SusanPC]

I have only 4 chicks. The first week, I think I changed the pine-shavings bedding every 3 or 4 days (after throwing away the first day's paper towels). That's when they were in a plastic tote. That included dumping all the bedding and rinsing/washing out the tote and putting new bedding back. I wash the water dish every day and the food dish every couple of days (of course replacing the food and water a few times each day). After 10 days I moved them to a huge 7' x 3' brooder which I filled about 3-4 inches with pine-shavings. I "scooped" as much poop as I could see/find after 3 days, but because of the larger brooder size, the bedding is holding up much better. I plan to replace all the bedding after it's been in there one week with probably another "scoop" session before then. I've just been playing it by ear (and nose and eyes) and if I have time to scoop and that will take care of it every few days, I've been happy. If I look at the bedding, the space, and the amount of poop, and it looks like it's an unhealthy combination, I change it. I don't think I've ever used as much practical common sense as I have since having these chicks - they really are easier to care for than I expected.

 

[UrbanFarming]

I have 4 chicks in a 3.5' x 2.5' brooder. I usually take all the shavings out and replace once a week, but if it seems especially poopy I'll do it sooner.

 

[sacchick]

I am curious what everyone's cleaning routine is?

How often do you clean the shavings, etc?

Thank you in advance!

My Brooder is a 700 dog crate about 4X2. I have 4 chicks that are 3 weeks old now. I have sand in the bottom and I use my litter scoop to clean up 2-3 times a day. I had paper towels on top for the first few days and changed those as often as possible. Trying to keep a clean brooder to help avoid Coccidia

 

[grampsjim]

I use pine chips and clean it every 1-2 days. I was told NEVER to use kitty litter because it will blister their little feet and kill them. I put newspaper down under
the chips which make cleaning much easier. I was also told that cedar chips will kill the chicks. I change water and clean the feeder daily or more often if needed.
My chicks seem to be very healthy. I'm going to start taking them out for an hour or so next week (they'll be 2 weeks next Wed.) Our Okla. temps are very nice!