Eating Styrofoam brooder......help

[secuono]

So, as some of you know, I made a 4ft square brooder out of Styrofoam and lined it up to about 6in with a black tarp. Well, the little buggers have been EATING it. There is a hole, 1.5in tall, 3-4in long all the way through the nearly inch thick foam. They eat their crumbles, but, how mad/worried should I be about the foam?

I've put things all around the sides to keep them away from the walls, but they seem to find empty spots..

 

[PepsNick]

You could try wire on the sides, kept one inch from them to the chicks can't put their heads through it. Hardware cloth would work great, just make sure that there's no harp edges that could cut your chicks.

edited for typos

 

[Amatsukaze]

I cant give you a definitive answer but what I have done as a temporary fix is slap some duct tape on the spots they are pecking at.

They just pick another spot (so I am building another brooder) so its a temporary fix at best...

Good luck!

 

[Judy]

Many of us have found that chickens love to eat styrofoam. If it got in, it will likely get out, too. The duct tape as a temporary fix strikes me as a good approach. Time for a new brooder. You needed a bigger one, anyway, right????

 

[secuono]

This was the new upsized brooder..lol.
But I'm thinking of making a wooden one on legs anyway. This one, like the last, is just sitting on the floor.

 

[easttxchick]

Can you line it with cardboard so they can't get to the styrofoam?

 

[silkiechicken]

I think chickens and all birds like the squeak of styrofoam in their beaks... chickens and chicks eat it... and even my cockatiel went ape over a styro peanut he found in the living room. You start looking when it gets quiet...

 

[NottinghamChicks]

When I get new chicks I use those huge clear plastic Totes. They make great brooders for the little chicks and I can just attatch the light to the rim, and layer the bottom with papertowels and or shavings. I keep an extra one to move them into when the current one needs cleaning and it's an easy transition.

Good Luck with those muchkins!

 

[secuono]

I'll try finding some cardboard or something. Their such little stinkers...lol

 

[crtrlovr]

Styrofoam = chicken popcorn