Cochin or d'uccle bantam chicks?

[cluckincarole]

I love that!! What do you have at the bottom of it? I like your stone stands for the food and water.. I have a couple similar that I'll get from my yard.

I was just thinking what I could do to give them a pseudo outside time. I wont trust flying chickens! And we already have hawks that monitor the yard in the whole neighborhood. I unfortunately cannot have an outdoor structure. But this is such a great idea!!

I use horse stall pellets from tractor supply. I lay down bed liners then on top I use wet pellets. The pellets when wet turn into a dry saw dust basically. The chicks like to dust bathe in it. On top of the wet ones, I put some dry pellets as well. It helps keep them from kicking around the dissolved ones so much. I find the pellets keep the smell down immensely. When I need to clean I scoop out and fill back up. When I want to refresh I clean out some of the poop and lay down some fresh wet pellet..smell GONE!

 

[AngBantamLuv]

I use horse stall pellets from tractor supply. I lay down bed liners then on top I use wet pellets. The pellets when wet turn into a dry saw dust basically. The chicks like to dust bathe in it. On top of the wet ones, I put some dry pellets as well. It helps keep them from kicking around the dissolved ones so much. I find the pellets keep the smell down immensely. When I need to clean I scoop out and fill back up. When I want to refresh I clean out some of the poop and lay down some fresh wet pellet..smell GONE!

I just bought the pellets yesterday.. I didn't have any newspaper at the moment, so I'll have to scrub a bit when I clean up. I read some reviews of the pellets AND chick feed from one lady who said she used both as kitty litter!

What are you using for the liner? Or is that one that comes w the playpen? I am thinking, newspaper ar the bottom of this indoor coop/run, with the horse pellets on top.. then a play pen like you have with toys, activites/food. That way the coop can be the lockdown/sleep area.. maybe keep it cleaner longer. It has trays.. but I have to figure out an efficient cleaning routine. Here is the coop as of this morning.. I think it looks much nicer w the horse pellets. And smells better. I also used an enzyme spray to clean the poop spots on the ramp (they are perching on it.. need another perch).

 

[AngBantamLuv]

I use horse stall pellets from tractor supply. I lay down bed liners then on top I use wet pellets. The pellets when wet turn into a dry saw dust basically. The chicks like to dust bathe in it. On top of the wet ones, I put some dry pellets as well. It helps keep them from kicking around the dissolved ones so much. I find the pellets keep the smell down immensely. When I need to clean I scoop out and fill back up. When I want to refresh I clean out some of the poop and lay down some fresh wet pellet..smell GONE!

And how do you wet the pellets? Do you wet them after they are in the play pen, or do you get a bucketful wet and then pour them in after they've expanded? And how often do you have to clean that?(20 questions.. sorry )

 

[cluckincarole]

I put the dry pellets in a plastic container and fill it up about halfway with water. They expand A LOT. So a little water goes a long way. Then I sprinkle it around the pen if I'm just refreshing for the smell.

I clean about 2x a week where I scoop out most of the pellets or the areas that they favor for pooping lol. Then I lay down wet pellets and top with some dry.

I actually use liners that are meant for hospital beds. They are big absorbent squares. When I want to deep clean I roll them up and toss it all. Scoop out what is left.

 

[AngBantamLuv]

I put the dry pellets in a plastic container and fill it up about halfway with water. They expand A LOT. So a little water goes a long way. Then I sprinkle it around the pen if I'm just refreshing for the smell.

I clean about 2x a week where I scoop out most of the pellets or the areas that they favor for pooping lol. Then I lay down wet pellets and top with some dry.

I actually use liners that are meant for hospital beds. They are big absorbent squares. When I want to deep clean I roll them up and toss it all. Scoop out what is left.

What a good idea! Ugh, I just tossed a bunch of puppy training pads a while back while decluttering... that's a perfect idea.

I realize the smell I am hating is the smell of their food.. they are dumping it too easily, but I need to wait another week for the smallest one to grow so it can reach any replacement. I like the PVC pipe idea with a 45° pipe outlet for each to eat from. I'll need to work on that this week.

I got a swing yesterday for the D'Uccles.. and just now Moon Baby was the first to try it out! After she flew off, she ran back to the ramp to launch again