how long do you use paper towels under them?

[TurtleChick]

so, the little girls came yesterday - 4 of them, hee hee!!!

i've got the brooder set up with pine shavings, covered with paper towels right now... i've read all sorts of opinions on bedding, from plain ole shavings from the get-go, to paper towels for a month, to paper towels for a few days... i guess i'm leaning towards paper towels for just another day or two... they've started pulling the edges of the paper towels up (and pecking them apart at the perforations) to get those super-cool shavings.

what do you all do?

as a funny aside, whenever i clean out the poopy towels (15 times a day??? poop poop poop) the girls run all over and have a little wood shavings rodeo... one grabs a piece of shavings (LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!!!! PEEP PEEP PEEP) and runs around with it while the others go screeching after her. then they wrestle over it and someone else wins and SHE will run around PEEP PEEP PEEPING like mad... they're so funny.

 

[speckledhen]

You can do it once they start tearing up the paper towels. They do have a good ol' time with those shavings, don't they? It will smell better just stirring around and refreshing the pine shavings rather than paper towels.
Some put them on shavings almost from the first day. As long as they are eating and drinking and know what food is, I say go ahead and take away the towels.

 

[HobbyChickener]

I have never heard of the paper towel thing. I have raised 99% of my birds from 3 day old chicks and they have never seen a paper towel. They lived on shaving until they get shipped to the run. Happy and Healthy they are!!!

 

[Queen of the Lilliputians]

I agree with Speckled Hen, give them a few days until they know where the food and water is, then take the paper towels out!

They probably will still pick at them (especially long or strangely colored pieces

. It's all fun for the babies!


-Meghan

 

[TurtleChick]

chicks are CRAZY! i never knew how much fun i'd have watching them!!! (okay, well i suspected...)

so, i don't REALLY change the paper towels 15 times a day - just feels that way. i think i'll only do it for another day and then call it quits (unless they have a total party with the paper towels tonight, in which case, i may hang up the paper towels a day early!). they do try to eat the pieces of shavings that they "catch", but hopefully the novelty will wear off quickly. they definitely know what their food and water are - when i have the feeder/waterer out for... oh... 60 seconds to refill them, they get SO excited when i bring them back. peep peep peep peeeeeeep! funny lil girls.

 

[smnytx]

Mine were five days old when I put some shavings in the brooder.

They went ABSOLUTELY NUTS and started scratching around in it - it was the cutest thing ever.

Yes, they'll peck at it, but mine were able to figure out easily that it wasn't food.

The only downside is that they will get it in the feeder and waterer. I don't worry about the feeder so much (I'll pick out the big pieces once a day). With the waterer, they were ready for it to be raised by then, anyway, so I put it up (on an inverted ceramic cat dish) and it hasn't collected too much litter since then.

 

[Chelly]

Turtlechick - I used paper towels for about 6 days. I changed once a day - but ADDED towels during the day when I saw a lot of poop - keeps it looking clean and chicks out the poop till change time.

 

[WindyOaksYokes]

I have never heard of the paper towel thing. I have raised 99% of my birds from 3 day old chicks and they have never seen a paper towel. They lived on shaving until they get shipped to the run. Happy and Healthy they are!!!

I was the same way... didnt hear of paper towels until I came on this board. though interesting and probably makes clean up easier

??? They don't tell you in the care instructions anything about paper towles...

LOL... I would listen to speckled... she is very wise!!!