How often do you clean the brooder?!

[yolksonus]

I have 9, four week old chickies in a 4x4 brooder. How often should I replace the pine shavings and clean the brooder? It's been 3 days and it is getting stinky!

 

[sonjab314]

Time to change it then. I usually change mine twice a week

 

[Rowsdower]

How deep is your litter? I change mine twice a day sometimes. :/

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

One of the most common causes of a stinky brooder is not the waste, but moisture - are you noticing any spillage/leakage from the waterer that is causing the bedding to be wet? What are you bedding with? How deeply is the brooder bedded?
Overcrowding is another common cause, the more birds you have/the smaller the space = more frequent need to clean.
I use pine shavings, bedded deeply, and elevate the waterer to prevent the little turds from spilling water all over the place - with this approach I can generally go about a week with no odor for the first 2-3 weeks of brooder time and after that I clean twice a week to prevent odors just because as the birds are larger the volume of waste increases.

 

[WindyHillFarm]

When they're tiny and not jumping everywhere, I get away with 2x/week. By the time they start doing chicken acrobatics in the brooder, I have to clean up 1-2 times a day! I just let my nose be my guide...if it's smelly it's time to change! Deep litter does help.

 

[yolksonus]

I use pine shavings with a dept of at least 1 1/2 inches. I have the water elevated to prevent 'contamination'! I haven't noticed any water spills. They are jumping around and flying out when I open the top so are much more active than a couple of weeks ago. I guess I'll have to get into the habit of changing the shavings every three days. Can't wait to get them out into the coop but too cold right now in NH!
Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[dragon30276]

When they're tiny and not jumping everywhere, I get away with 2x/week. By the time they start doing chicken acrobatics in the brooder, I have to clean up 1-2 times a day! I just let my nose be my guide...if it's smelly it's time to change! Deep litter does help.

x2

 

[manychitlens]

Gosh, I clean mine every day! I use sand and not shavings though, so I can see all of the poop sitting right on top and staring at me, haha. They are also dust bathing all the time now and I can't stand the idea that they are rolling around in poop. Makes me squeamish. I'm sure it's different with deep shavings, but I'm allergic to pine, so that's a no go for me.

 

[sonjab314]

I have 9, four week old chickies in a 4x4 brooder. How often should I replace the pine shavings and clean the brooder? It's been 3 days and it is getting stinky!

Are they feathered out enough that you can put them outside? I dunno about your climate but its just s suggestion

 

[Julia62]

My brooder is our guest bath tub! I used paper towels and then puppy pads to line it with and change them every day with scooping clean outs as often as I see poop (I use a plastic spoon)! They are now 6 weeks old and are spending their first full day outside in their coop/run.