I put them on shavings!

[BeautifulPacificNorthwest]

Uh Oh, mine are on straw. Any problems with that that I am unaware of?

 

[healingtreeharp]

I use http://www.carefresh.com/ for several of our animals. The chicks seem to like it and I have trusted it for quite some time now. Try it.

 

[WhySayWhat]

I had planned on doing paper towels for the first couple of weeks...but after 2 days of changing them, and the girls digging the layer of pine out from under them anyway...I gave in a switched them to straight pine! I did have a paper towel under the water dish until yesterday, but that got taken away when they started eating it! They still pick up a shaving every now and then, but they usually drop it again.

 

[BeautifulPacificNorthwest]

I have a puppy pee-pee pad folded up underneath my water

 

[jadeflower999]

Quote:
Ditto, me too and had no probs

 

[mkeawsh]

Quote:
That's what I do. I just use some rag towels and change them out about every other day and then when they are a week old I put them on pine shavings. That is also when I change their water from sugar water to regular water. I used to have the sugar water for just about two or three days but it always seemed there were a couple chicks that were weaker and could stand being on it for a few more days, so that means they all have to be drinking it.

I throw all my towels I used in the washer at the end of that first week and then I have them clean for the next batch that hatches.

 

[mkeawsh]

Quote:
My first hatch five years ago, I had them on straw and they started sneezing and running noses, so I contacted the gentleman that I got the eggs from and he said that there can be spores and fungus in straw and hay that can give them upper respiratory problems, so I just get huge bags of pine shavings and when they are about a year old I do incorporate some hay into the shavings in their house and tractors. They seem to like working with the hay in the nest boxes better than just pine shavings. So, I have shavings as a deep base and then a thin layer of hay on top they work into nests.

 

[srolle1lsu]

we've been using paper towels for the last two weeks and have been reluctant to switch to pine due to what i perceive will be more dust. is that just me over thinking it? is there anyway to reduce the dust?

 

[jenesis536]

I've had all of my chicks from 3-5 days old on shavings from the start... you will be ok!

 

[MTopPA_18707]

I'm a newbie too . . . but I read a ton before getting our chicks.
[They are two weeks old now.]


Anyway, I put shavings down the first day but put two paper towels in the center in case the chicks preferred to walk on them.

The chicks could care less and ran all over.

After two days I took the paper towels out and left only the shavings.

--

Note: the real reason I put down the paper towels was so the chicks could see the crumble feed I sprinkled there. I was teaching them to peak n' scratch.

Kevin