My babies are shredding newspaper. Is it ok and what else can I use?

[nuts4hotwheels]

I have 3 chicks that are about 2 weeks old. I have newspaper on the bottom that I change twice a day. The problem is that they are scratching it and shredding it up. Will this cause a problem if they eat it? Is it safe to use something else like pine or aspen shavings at this age.

 

[dulcimer lady]

I've always used hay or pine shavings. Just make sure you stay away from cedar. As far as causing problems, I'm not sure but I wouldn't really relish the thought of my chicks ingesting whatever the ink is made out of. I've never put newspaper under chicks but other birds I've had like parakeets go crazy tearing it up. Seems to be a bird thing, lol.

 

[LilMissChz]

I love using pine shavings. I got a nice bale at Tractor Supply and it was cheap. Plus you can get it at Pet stores and Wal Mart. One of the things I do is spot clean, pulling out dirty shavings by the handful and replace with more shavings. Then once a week I do a thorough cleaning. They scratch it, rearrange it, dust bathe in it and generally seem to be okay with it.