New Chicks & Pine Shavings

[snixter3]

Almost everything that i have read says to use pine shavings for their bedding, no news paper and absolutley no cedar chavings.
They apperantly can't get a good foot hold on newspapers because of them being slick to walk on. The cedar scent causes lung damage.

 

[agirly4chicks]

Quote:
Thank you.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

The standard information usually given is to put paper towels over pine shavings the first week. Some people use just the paper towels. A layer of paper towels over newspapers would work, too. You just want to give them time to learn to eat their food and have it be a good, solid behavior.

Paper towels give them more traction than newspapers and makes it easier for them to stand up, without their legs sliding out from under them. They don't have much strength in their legs to start with. Or balance. Or any idea of what food is or isn't. They develop quite a bit, just the first week.

 

[ametauss]

My chicks always scratch at the paper towels and make a mess so I gave up and just use wood shavings and haven't lost any....

I use a rabbit cage as a brooder and the bottom is slick so a layer of wood shavings is perfect... they can't scratch it out... the paper towels they would shred and get under and then scream....

I think the wood chips also helps keep them warmer...

IMHO

 

[gritsar]

Though conventional wisdom says to use paper towels over pine shavings for the first few days, I didn't and didn't have a problem with them eating shavings. When they arrived I set them down in their feeder and after that they were fine and knew where their food was.

 

[zmcdad]

I got 21 chicks from a local breeder last Tuesday (they were hatched 2 days before). My big homemade brooder box is full of pine shavings I bought at the local co-op. I showed them the water and the feeder and they've taken to it well. You should also mix in a little "chick grit" with their food to aid in digestion. At 10 days of age, mine are growing well and feathers are coming in. It's crazy how much they change in a week!

They were straight run, 11 Ameracaunas and 10 RIR.

Ben

PS - This is my first batch of "bitties" and I'm loving it!

PSS - I spoke to soon. Found a little dead in the brooder this afternoon. One of the RIR. Hope it was nothing serious. Found a couple with "pasty butt", but no other signs/symptoms from the others. Temp is good, food and water are fresh, bedding is clean. Who knows??

 

[Majestic Lane Poultry]

I use a double layer of "bumpy" paper towel for the first few weeks. I can even tell you that I use 10 at a time. 2 rows of five each folded in the middle of the third one. Fits my sterlite and rubbermaid boxes perfectly.

Easy clean up as I change them out 3 times a day. Chicks tend to be wasteful with their food. With the paper towels...I just roll them up and start over.

 

[she-earl]

It must be something with this batch. We covered the pine shavings with old sheets and they are scratching it back to get at the shavings. They were hatched a week ago today. They know where their feed and water is. I will be taking the shavings out and putting newspaper down instead. I have two days in a row so far that no chicks have died for which I am grateful.

 

[gabrielle1976]

I use straw/hay stuff I got a huge lawngarbage bag full of it for like 2.50 at the feed store and they peck at it but its long bits of straw stuff so they havent eaten any they like to dig and scratch at it. Is this safe for them?