First time questions

[appleacres]

Hello,
I am raising chickens for the first time. Last year I raised Guinea Hens and that worked out well, but now I am adding chickens.
Here are a few questions I have:
--With Guinea Hen babies you are supposed to use paper towels because they apparently aren't bright enough not to eat the shavings...at what age can I use shavings with baby chicks?
--Last year our spare room smelled as you would expect it to for a few weeks while I had them inside (3 weeks). What is the minimum outdoor temperature folks have ever had a brooder in? (which would be different than the ambient temp in the brooder--last year I kept ambient temps in the brooder at 75, and used a heat plate in addition that they would choose to go under when they felt like it. But this was inside a house (55 degrees). Our temps can get down to 20 outdoors.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I use a little bit of shavings right at the start, and that sits on top of my deep litter, so the chicks have dirt, wood chip fragments, and shavings all mixed together - aim for bigger flakes to discourage them from eating it.

I brood outdoors in May, when it's about mid 40s-60s. Some folks do brood outdoors in lower temperatures, but you have to be more mindful of drafts, dampness, etc. If it were me, personally, I would wait until it warms up a bit more just so there's a little less risk involved. Like I have no way of providing water to chicks below freezing, and if the heat source conks out they're much more likely to survive if it's 45 vs 20.