flooring

[NC ChickenKate]

My nine banty chicks (Welsummers, EE's and Silkies) have been on aspen shavings since arriving from My Pet Chicken. At one week old I put a large pie pan full of sand from their future yard into their brooder box and within one hour two were giving themselves dust baths (how instinctual and precocious chicks are!). I also scattered some of their chick crumbles on the sand. In two days I had observed each of them pecking around the sand so I started adding very finely chopped carrots, broccoli, cabbage, beets, hard boiled egg, etc. to their diet. At two 1/2 weeks they all went to live in their coop with shavings on the floor. I'd bought a rubber round pan that a large water heater would sit in and that, filled with sand, became their dust bath site inside the coop. After one whole week in the coop I started leaving the pop hole door open all day...today was day 3 with the open door policy and although there have been several very curious excursions out the door they have yet to find their way all the way down the ramp to the warm and dry sand floor waiting for them in their yard.
I figure the sand/dirt/gravel from their yard has all or most of the tiny things they'll need to aclimate their guts to. The aspen shavings have worked wonderfully so far but I may put sand on the coop floor in the Spring after they are full grown...our entire 1/2 acre is sand so I have plenty for free. Maybe for next Winter I'll put some shavings over the sand just to give them something really "fluffy" to nestle into when the cold winds blow...just to make me feel better I guess.

 

[Ole rooster]

Sand cuz my garden can use it and I just love the workability of sand. Plus it just keeps the odor down, that is if you clean. I do not like the idea of just mixing in the poop and clean it later. Clean it every day.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You can use about any of them. Don't use slick paper or newspaper because they can have trouble getting a grip, their legs can slip, and they can get spraddle leg. Paper towels work pretty well. They can grip those. You could use shredded paper, but some people have reported problems with them eating the shredded paper.

One potential problem with wood shavings is that they will peck at anything. It's instinctive. Occasionally, one can eat enough wood shavings so they have an impacted crop or gizzard. It does not happen that often but it can happen. The normal recommendation to guard against this is to keep the wood shavings covered with paper towels for three or four days, just long enough for them to get used to eating their main feed. I think you find that a majority of people use shavings, so an impacted crop or gizzard is obviously not that common. It's just something that can possibly happen.

As others mentioned, the cedar shavings can give off vapors that can cause respiratory problems. Aspen or pine shavings are fine.

Sand can work. An added advantage is that they will eat it as grit. A possible disadvantage, depending on where and how you house them, is that they scratch a lot. Sand can be hard to clean up if you keep them in the house and don't have walls high enough to keep the sand in the brooder.

I have my brooder in the coop and use a wire brooder with a good draft guard. The bottom is 1/2" hardware cloth. The poop falls through with their walking and scratching on it, so the cleanup is easy. A disadvantage is that any feed that is spilled is lost.