Help! 3 day old chick scratching uncontrollably!

[horsejody]

Quote:
Eep! That's not good- Can I use them later, or for adult chickens? I bought a lot of it. I'll change it soon.

Cedar isn't good for any animal. It is only popular because humans like the smell. The same oils that make it aromatic are a skin irritant.

 

[JenniferC]

Man, that's really annoying! I have a TON of it, and it will even be hard to throw on my composter since it does not break down easily at all. Maybe I'll use it as a decorative bark somewhere.

I'll have to call around to see where i can get pine.

Right now I have them on paper towels over an old polar fleece blanket. It might get a bit too warm, but they seem happy.

 

[Moonwalker]

GRRR! A pet peeve of mine is the MIS- information petshops and such give out when they sell animals. People who are getting a pet they are not familiar with and are making the effort to LEARN what it's needs are, get steered in the wrong direction and the animals take the brunt of it. Not to mention the pet owners who are doing everything they were told to do and watching their pets suffer and die.
PLEASE! Go back to wherever you got them armed with copies of information that Cedar bedding is NOT to be used for small animal bedding so they don't continue doing this. You can print a copy of the BYC "Save A Chick" flyer which they can copy and give out with the chicks they sell.

This is a long-winded article, but it has a lot of good information in it about animal bedding:
http://members.aol.com/bunrabtoo/cedar.html

Cedar chips CAN be used in dog kennels that house adult lmedium to large breed dogs, NOT puppies! It does help keep down fleas and other bugs. Many dogs beds have cedar chips mixed in the polyfill stuffing.

It can be used as bedding for adult animals of species that are NOT herbivorous and may eat it, NOT feline or other species that often grooms itself, or each other, or any animals under about 10 lbs. In an enclosed space, such as a dog house, the fumes can be strong enough to cause respiratory problems. These can range from sneezing and coughing fits to actual poisoning overtime.

Never use it for pet birds, except to catch droppings under an OUTDOOR, open enclosure with a raised mesh floor of a size and height they CANNOT reach through to pick up, and all perches, shelves and food/water dishes should be at LEAST 3 ft above. (I use pea gravel for these, as all you have to do to clean is hit it with the pressure washer and it breaks up the poop and it soaks down into the soil beneath)

You can use it for flower beds or around trees as a weed deterrant, like you would use bark chips, but it's not as pretty because it gets soggy.

You can sew it into little cloth bags and hang then in your closet or put them in drawers. It makes them smell nice, absorbs moisture and deters moths.