I put them on shavings!

[Arielle]

I finally gave in and put in several inches of shavings.

I am a newbie at raising chicks. The idea of putting them on shavings terrified me. I worried: The shavings are little bits of wood to stuff themselves on when every little bite of complete feed is essential.

I kept them on paper towels, went thru boat loads of those. Put down a cheap cloth. Gathered it up , put down a fresh one, and shook out the soiled one over the lawn and washed it. Repeat. I can't take it any longer!! THey make too much poo and the clothe is too moist IMO for good health. THey are over 6 weeks old. THey eat a lot and drink a lot! ANd the coop isn't ready due to Old MAn WInter dumping more snow than we've seen in over 15 years!! Enough. If all of you put them on shavings, I will try it too!

Pullets crammed into the corners while I dumped and spread the shavings. THey must have thought the sky is falling.

I tried to reassure them and pushed them out of the corners. To their surprise, they really could walk on this new stuff.

I hope this will keep the moisture down, and I can keep it clean . . . or else I may just pull everything out of the shed and put them in!!!!


Love this website!! So full of knowlegable people!

 

[SOMD Chicken Mafia]

Good job! I bet it will smell much better.

 

[Arielle]

Is that the same as that weird funky chicken smell?!?!?

 

[nittanyxi]

I really dont think you have anything to worry about with pine shavings. I put mine on wood shavings when they were day olds and had no problems.

 

[Sylvialarry]

I'm getting four babies at the end of this month. I can hardly wait.

Since I'm new to this I've decided to use paper towels for first week then I plan on going to pine shavings.

 

[Arielle]

That's what I'm doing with my second batch of chicks!! 4 BO arrived yesterday.So cute!!!

 

[MT Chickies]

I did the paper towels over the shavings, then just rolled them up to reveal the shavings when they got dirty. They pecked at the shavings for a day or two and it looked like they were eating some of the smaller bits, so I added some sand/grit just in case. (paranoid 1st time chicken momma) They may have just been checking it out instead of actually eating them. They seem to be fine and are eating food like crazy.

 

[silkiechicken]

WOW, that is some patience to wait 6 weeks before giving shavings!

LOL, I couldn't do it.

I put hatchings on paper towels for about 1 day if that, then out they go into a brooder shack covered in wood shavings. By 6 weeks I've usually taken away the lights if it's in the upper 30's or low 40's at night and they have to huddle up and deal with it outside.

Throw in some yard dirt to their brooder so they can get exposure to the bacteria, parasites, and what not while they are still young. You want to expose them to the environment because keeping them too clean might hinder their immunity development. Early low dose exposure = healthy adults.

 

[TNkidsnextdoor]

Yeah, that's why I let my baby lick the floor---immunities!! LOL

How often do you have to change the chips?

 

[Rooneytune]

i have had my girls on pine since I got them (3 days old) and they have been fine. Sometimes one will pick up a chip and all the other chicks will start chasing her around.

too cute. As for cleaning... I have just been adding a new layer of shavings everyday and then dumping the whole thing weekly. it really keeps the smell (and work) to a minimum. Which makes for happy chickies and happy mommy