How bad does it smell?

[cuckoo_orpington13]

I've heard the chicks in a brooder stink up the house. Is this true? I want to raise baby chicks in my room for the first few weeks till they're old enough to go outside,
but my mom hates bad smells(she's having a baby so it seems to have worsened) . If I clean the brooder everyday, will the smell be lower?
I've never raised chicks in the house so I'd like to know.

Thank you.

 

[Farmington]

Use wood shavings, and keep it clean, and you won't smell a thing. We have ours in the basement, and after a week, I can't smell a thing. The dust is another issue, though. Lots of fine dust, so probably not good to have them in a main living area.

 

[cuckoo_orpington13]

They're going to be in the corner of my room, so it shouldn't be a problem.
I might get bantams because the cardboard box is a bit small.

 

[NattiFan]

I keep mine clean and don't smell a thing. but there is dust from the wood shavings. I have my brooder in the basement, I don't mind

 

[TC_BokBok]

I have a larger 16sq. foot brooder for my 5 chicks and we keep it in the basement. I use pine shavings for the bedding in about 3 to 4 inches thick on the floor. Sprinkled in with the pine shavings are about 2 cups of Sweet PDZ natural minerals. Sweet PDZ is great because it's 100% organic, dual-purpose small sized grit if the babies to happen to peck it up, and an amazing odor preventative.

I stir up my shavings to mix their poop drooping around a little every couple of days and we don't smell a thing and never have. Matter of fact... the only thing I do smell is the pine shavings which isn't bad.

Good luck!

 

[lindseythefork]

I've never had the brooder "stink up the house" until the chicks start growing up and pooping a LOT more. I use pine shavings and if anything, it smells good with the light warming it all up.

 

[ranchhand]

The dust may be a problem, even if you keep the brooder extra clean. As they grow the feather dander and the bedding dust will infiltrate every square inch of your room. It's amazing.

If you can brood them in an outbuilding or garage it will be much better for all of you.

 

[Nostalchic]

I have to agree with Ranchhand, it's NOT the smell, which is very controllable if you keep them on clea shavings in adequate space, but as they begin the feather-in, the amount of dust they create defies the imagination. It's quite a phenomenon, should not be underestimated!

 

[Kittymomma]

Use pine pellets instead of shavings. It will still get dusty, but not as bad and they're wayyyyy better for odor control. If you're only planning on getting a few--four or less, it may be workable but anymore then that you should just use an outbuilding or the garage. Like everyone else has said, it's the dust and dander that get completly out of control.

 

[chicken_china_mom]

All of last year with my chicks I used pine shavings, and no matter how much I cleaned them out (which was A LOT), they stunk. Not at first, but over time they did as the chicks grew and the size of their poo grew. Plus it seemed that I was forever cleaning shavings out of the waterer and the food dish. So this year I decided to try a new method. I'm brooding mine in a plastic rabbot cage, it's rather large, and I am using potty pads for puppies under the chicks. The ones I have are by Hartz, antibacterial, and they instantly whisk the fluid out of the poo, and it dries out quickly without a single odor. I LOVE it! I change the pads daily (I use 2 at at a time) and my babies are clean, the brooder stays clean, and there are no shavings getting everywhere. I'll be using this method from here on out as long as it works. But if you are keeping the brooder in your room, you definitely need to stay on top of cleaning it. I sympathize with your mom. Pregnant women certainly do have a much finer sense of smell than non pregnant people. There was a lot of things that made me sick when I was pregnant with my girls, and a stinkly brooder could very likely make your mom sick, and make it so that she won't ever let you brood your chicks indoors again, so keep it as clean as possible! I wonder if anyone here uses DE with their chicks. DE will also keep odors to a record low. I used it in my coop all last year and you couldn't smell anything, and I had nearly 40 birds! However, I've never used it with tiny chicks, so maybe someone will have better advice on that. Good luck with your chicks though. One question though, you said you are using a cardboard box? How are you intending to keep the bottom of the box from degrading from moisture? Chicks will splash in their water, and they poop a lot. I've never used anything other than plastic to brood mine. If you have a 32 gallon storage bin somewhere, that would make a better brooder than a cardboard box. Just a thought.