Newbies

[SueD]

Hi again everyone. I have been posting questions in other categorys on here the last two days, and have gotten tons of help thanks to all you wonderful people on here. I am getting my new chickens (first time owner) this weekend "yay" But I have yet, ANOTHER question (sorry)
I read about flooring and it says saw dust and shavings make best flooring. So, how do I mix it? do I put the saw dust on the bottom, and how many inches deep? and cover it with the shavings? how deep? Or do I just mix it all together? how deep should it be?
Thank you everyone
Sue

 

[Queen of the Lilliputians]

Hi! Congrats on your babies!! I couldn't wait to get mine.. had the box set up a week in advance LOL!

Ok, from my understanding.. sawdust is BAD.. too dusty, bits to small. Usually, I think, Shavings are put down, then papertowels over for the first few days. The papertowels keep chicks from eating shavings (and if you are like me allow you to see if anyone is sick!). After the first few days they'll know where the food is located, and you can remove the paper towels.

Good luck!

-Meghan

 

[speckledhen]

If you're talking about in the coop itself, not a brooder, I would skip the sawdust (too dusty) and only use good pine shavings. Do you have a wood floor? Just put a few inches of shavings on the floor. Then you can stir it around to make the poop fall to the bottom and sprinkle some on top from time to time to refresh it. At a certain point, you'll probably want to remove the entire thing and put totally fresh in. For the brooder, just use paper towels for a few days then shavings.

 

[Frozen Feathers]

Chickens are pretty good at mixing it up themselves, (and spreading it everywhere) so really it's up to you, how you feel like doing it.

I'd say sawdust 1st, then shavings, it'll look better, but the chickens might no care, lol.

 

[SueD]

Wow, thanks soooo much for amswering and so fast! I will skip the saw dust and buy a good grade shaving. I think my new chickens are about 6 inches tall now, is what the lady im getting them from said. I didnt want to take them home when they were tiny. I was afraid they would get cold, and me being a new owner, not knowing a lot about chickens, may have hurt them. She said she didnt mind hlding them until they got bigger and stronger for me. I will miss the fun watching the little furry babies time., but at least they should be safer in the hands of a newbie at this stage (I hope). My hubby has been working for two weeks on my chicken coop. I cant wait!
Thanks again everyone!
Sue

 

[ThunderStruck]

Another thing about the saw dust is that they may have a tendency to eat it more. Especially if they have been fed "mash" in the past. It looks very sim, and it may end up impacting their crops.

Forrest

 

[doodledo]

Hi, I am also a 1st time chicken lady and I say no to sawdust also. I had a few problems with it and my chickens eating it. I now go to my neighbor who bales hay and I clean up all the pieces that fall onto the barn floor, its called chafe. The chicks love it. They love to scratch around in it. And best of all, its free for me. He told me I am cleaning up after him and thats a good enough pay. Maybe go to your local farmer.

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

Sue-

You probably already know this, but since you keep mentioning "coop" and most of us put young chicks in a brooder, I just wanted to mention that even though it's summer, you won't be able to just turn them loose in a coop. I kept mine in a baby playpen (as a brooder) for the first 6 weeks, and added enough supplemental heat to make sure they could stay at 90 degrees.

Someone told me that if you see them huddling together, they're too cold, no matter if you think they should not be. If they are lounging around by themselves, they're probably toasty enough. Right now in Dallas, it's falling to 70 degrees at night, which would be way too cold for week-old chicks.

 

[SueD]

Thanks for the tip,

I will have to make sure some way they dont get cold. I think she said they are about 6 inches tall now, but I dont know what age they are. I will ask her tomorrow when I pick them up how old and how much heat she thinks they may need. She stopped by the other day and loved the house and coop my hubby built, so we passed our first test yay! lol

Thanks again,
Sue