This is my second batch of chicks in 5 years, so I don't have a ton of advice. However I have just move my 26 2-weekers into their second and hopefully last brooder. It's my old coop run that i brought indoors, placed on cardboard, and tarp, and have it pushed to the wall on the open side. On that brooder floor is a lot of pine shavings.
Some of my observations through trial and error:
1. Apple cider vinegar helped my pasty butt problem (the first week I was wiping about 13 butts a few times a day....not fun! I couldn't find raw vinegar, so i bought the regular stuff in the grocery store and it's a regular additive to my waterer (i will order some from amazon once this is gone.
2. Your nose will tell you when you need to clean out the old shavings. I think the cleaner you can keep the brooder early on, the better the health of your hens later. I cleaned out the first brooder every other day and after wiping it down with diluted bleach solution, replaced with new pine shavings. My new brooder is big so i think i will be ok with adding more chips and going closer to a week between shoveling it out and replacing the chips.
3. I don't give many treats. only once did i give my 26 chicks something other than the chick crumbles. i gave them cooked egg yolks during the pasty butt week. They loved it. But with 4 kids and a few jobs outside the home, i barely have time to take care of their food and hydration let alone cook and separate eggs for them to eat.
4. ALWAYS WEAR GLOVES when cleaning their domicile! Prevention will go a long way in keeping you free of their bacteria and them free of yours. When I'm cleaning out their henhouse, I wear an N95 respirator (a nice mask like one for sanding wood) and shower afterwards. You don't want their dust in your breathing passages either and that dust can settle on your clothing, hair, and skin.
Some of my observations through trial and error:
1. Apple cider vinegar helped my pasty butt problem (the first week I was wiping about 13 butts a few times a day....not fun! I couldn't find raw vinegar, so i bought the regular stuff in the grocery store and it's a regular additive to my waterer (i will order some from amazon once this is gone.
2. Your nose will tell you when you need to clean out the old shavings. I think the cleaner you can keep the brooder early on, the better the health of your hens later. I cleaned out the first brooder every other day and after wiping it down with diluted bleach solution, replaced with new pine shavings. My new brooder is big so i think i will be ok with adding more chips and going closer to a week between shoveling it out and replacing the chips.
3. I don't give many treats. only once did i give my 26 chicks something other than the chick crumbles. i gave them cooked egg yolks during the pasty butt week. They loved it. But with 4 kids and a few jobs outside the home, i barely have time to take care of their food and hydration let alone cook and separate eggs for them to eat.
4. ALWAYS WEAR GLOVES when cleaning their domicile! Prevention will go a long way in keeping you free of their bacteria and them free of yours. When I'm cleaning out their henhouse, I wear an N95 respirator (a nice mask like one for sanding wood) and shower afterwards. You don't want their dust in your breathing passages either and that dust can settle on your clothing, hair, and skin.
