HELP!!

[JuliaWesterbeek]

This is my first time owning chickens and when they were just 2 days old I started using newspaper for under their bedding but at around 2 weeks old they started eating the newspaper so I wanted to take away the newspaper and let just keep them on the wire flooring of the cage. I thought this was sort of mean because it didn't look very comfortable so I put these plastic sheets down that they can't break. Unfortunately, they make a huge mess so I need to clean the plastic sheet with my hose and with some soap every day and that takes an hour... Does anyone know a material that I could use instead of plastic sheets, maybe materials that are easier to clean, or is it okay for them to walk on the wire flooring of the cage/coop.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! Wire flooring is a very bad idea for chickens of any age; they are not rabbits! You can use shavings, which come baled for horse bedding at feed stores, and add a bit more as they grow and mess in them. That's been the best bedding, IMO. "hospital pads" which are like big disposable diapers, will work pretty well too, especially for a small number of chicks. Cover the wire with a solid surface, and add shavings. Mary

 

[JuliaWesterbeek]

Welcome! Wire flooring is a very bad idea for chickens of any age; they are not rabbits! You can use shavings, which come baled for horse bedding at feed stores, and add a bit more as they grow and mess in them. That's been the best bedding, IMO. "hospital pads" which are like big disposable diapers, will work pretty well too, especially for a small number of chicks. Cover the wire with a solid surface, and add shavings. Mary

I thought wire flooring wouldn't be good or comfortable for the chickens! Thanks I will look into the "hospital pads"

 

[rosemarythyme]

I used wood shavings on top of paper towels. Newspaper is troublesome, it gets gross fast and can also be slippery under their little feet, plus it's full of ink.

Chickens poop a ton, you really don't need to clean out the brooder that frequently unless you have a lot of babies and they're soiling it super fast. I cleaned out my brooder twice a week, only more frequently if they knocked over the water.

 

[JuliaWesterbeek]

I was very surprised at the rate that chickens poop and since this is my first time I didn't know how often to clean out the brooder. I only have 2 chicks (I don't have enough space for a whole flock) so I will take your advice and clean the brooder out twice a week. When I can move the chicks to the coop how often should I clean it?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't actually clean out my coop that often, so every 2 to 3 weeks for me. I use wood shavings and just rake it out best I can and replace it with fresh shavings. I also do a weekly "turn over" of the bedding where I rake the existing bedding around and redistribute it within the coop. Most people probably clean more frequently but even though my coop is small it's well ventilated so there's no noticeable odor, even when I crouch down, so I feel my cleaning is sufficient.

My run is larger in comparison and mostly grass, so for that I rake out the obvious dried poop and shed feathers every other month or so, as needed.

By the way don't feel like you have to stick to my "twice a week" - if the brooder starts smelling or the bedding looks very soiled or wet it'll need to be cleaned more often. That was just how often I did it. Trust me when I say it'll never be spotless, the moment you put in new bedding they'll just poop again!

I had 3 chicks in a bathtub brooder this spring, by 6 weeks no amount of cleaning was enough (they kept knocking over the water, tearing out all the paper towels, throwing food everywhere) so they had to go outside at that point.

 

[JuliaWesterbeek]

Thank You!!!