eating drywall

[jeannieo]

o.k. here's the scenario. My five and a half week old babies are in their brooder in the basement. Plenty of room and I just recently changed the light from heat to regular. They are growing like weeds. Tonight I'm in the bathroom which is on the other side of where they are and I hear tapping/pecking

. I go around the corner and here's the six of them pecking away at the drywall and I'm pretty sure eating it

! I put a piece of plywood in against the drywall so I think they'll be deterred tonight. Is the drywall going to hurt them?

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

How did they get to the drywall from their brooder?

If you caught them in the act, it doesn't sound like they had a chance to eat much if any.

If you don't have a top on the brooder, it may be time for one to keep the little cuties safe and out of trouble.

Good luck

 

[Imp]

Chickens eat all sorts of unusual things. I don't know for sure, but I suspect they'll be just fine.

Imp- BTW drywall is better cooked.

 

[jeannieo]

their brooder is three sections of plastic dog gate, the kind that snaps together so there is an open side which is pushed up against the wall In other words, the wall is the fourth side. hope this makes sense!

 

[PatS]

Chickens DO eat weird things! We insulated the coop. Put sheets of foam type insulation behind the walls but just shoved it between the rafters in the ceiling. A piece came down and the chickens ate quite a bit of it before we discovered it had come down. Surprisingly, no problems. (Although we DID attach the insulation better so it would stay UP where it is supposed to.)

I have read that chicks aren't supposed to get too much calcium, and I believe drywall is made of calcium sulfate (gypsum). I only have a very shallow knowledge of chemistry, but if they continue to munch on it they might get too much calcium in their diets, so it is probably good you blocked it off before it became a habit.

 

[al6517]

The raw materials that make up drywall should pose little or no problems, the problems lay in what chemicals and binding agents are used to manufacture drywall. who knows if it will be or cause any ill effects.

AL

 

[jeannieo]

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