Favorite bedding for chicks?

[Moselle]

Sorry if this has been asked 5000 times. What is your favorite bedding for chicks? I worry about them trying to eat shavings, and want something that I can change easily. What about old towels or a cut up old blanket? I'll only have 6, so they'll need bedding for only a small area.

 

[johnnyjack]

i dont see why ya couldnt use the towels or blanket but keep it clean. alot of people use paper towels. i use pine shavings on top of newspapper. im sure others will add to the list.

 

[Wildsky]

I used paper towels only for the first 5 or 6 days... after that wood shavings... and I added a roost around the same time so they got the hang of sleeping up on that!

 

[claud]

I use newspaper with a single layer of paper towels on top for traction.

 

[Gonzo the Great]

I tried the newspaper and paper towel ontop. Is it me or do I feed my chicks too much? They are pooping all over the joint. I stuck them in a dog kennel that I have some hardware cloth over the tray. Poop every where. It's around 42 tonight, so much should I feed them? Also, dunno about the temp, but they like to regulate themselves, either sit right next to the lamp or sit away in a bunch just nodding off. I was thinking of lining the hardware cloth with pine needles. Is that okay or will the chicks start shoving them down their gullets?

I got them from a lady who claims 3 wk old. They are about 6 inches tall and rising. BRs, BOs, and RIRs. How do you tell age if they don't carry personal identification?

On a wing and prayer here.

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
They'll start to look close to completely feathered at 6-7 weeks.
At three weeks you should still have fluff balls with a few wing feathers and tails....

I just keep the feeder full 24/7 - they do poop alot - I had to change my paper towels a couple of times a day - sometimes just adding towels ontop when I didn't have time.

DO you have pic's of your chicks?

 

[Gonzo the Great]

Pics of the chicks...ahhhh...ya know...that's a very good question. And my answer is...COMING SOON. If you seen my recent posts, it was a madhouse. I wanted only 6 chicks, the nice lady who sold them to me have me 8 chicks and an older Silkie and a Silkie Frizzle mutt. So I've been scrambling...so to speak.

 

[Wildsky]

I dont' have silkies - so I'm not sure what they would look like at 3 weeks..... pretty darn small I would think!

 

[arlee453]

pine shavings several inches thick on the bottom, then paper towels on top for the first few days.

And leave food and water avail 24x7. They eat...all the time....a lot.....