No brooder bedding?

[chickens really]

Hello...Your definitely going to need bedding because they will lay and walk into all that poo and I can't imagine the smell ...

 

[Enigmius]

Last time I used pine shavings, but I was told recently that it is not safe for 1-2 day old birds. Is that true, and I just got lucky last time?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Last time I used pine shavings, but I was told recently that it is not safe for 1-2 day old birds. Is that true, and I just got lucky last time?

Some keepers prefer not to use shavings in the 1st few days out of a concern regarding the chicks potentially eating them causing they just of blockages. I personally have never had any if you using the pine shavings and having the chicks and just them… I use them routinely for my chicks from the very 1st day. If you are particularly concerned or wish to error on the safe side, paper towels (can be put over the shavings) prevent consumption while providing traction (newspaper is not a good choice as it is slick, especially when wet from water or droppings) and can lead to leg issues

 

[PaulX]

I tried that, and it only worked because I only brooded my ducklings for 10 days, and in those 10 days I was with them all the time to clean the brooder every 3 hours. I also separated the brooder into the living station and the feeding station. (so they couldn't spill water on their living space) They got transported between the two whenever they started pecking the ground and when they stopped eating. If you can clean the brooder every 3 hours then yes it could work... for 15 days at most probably...

 

[Miss Lydia]

I use pee pads first couple weeks cleanup 3x a day then I add the large flake shavings from TSC of course your house isn’t going to smell like a rose but it doesn’t stink. We stopped for bedding at TSC this week they didn’t have any so I opted for the bedding that is pellets it says for horses and small animals it’s working pretty good and my first time for using it.

 

[ValerieJ]

I used my spare bathroom once to brood some chicks. Yuck! I ran out of bleach trying to get it sanitized after! I actually put a large tote in the bathtub, and the bathtub is enclosed with sliding doors, so all the mess was confined there, and none of it went down the drain. The next time I set up an area in the garage and kept it warm with the heat lamp. I do have a heater in the garage which helped. Next year we are building a new coop and I will have a brooder in it. Yay! Then I hope to have a broody hen and let her do all the work. Wouldn't that be great? I had one do that last year. Loved it! the most fun I've had with my chickens was watching her raise her young.

 

[Enigmius]

I do have straw. Would that be more or less safe than wood chips for the first few days?

I have a duck coop this time around(i didn't last time so those poor ducklings lived for a few months indoors), so I plan to have them in the brooder only long enough to put them outside without a heat source. I like in north texas so we get into the 90's or more during the day, but we still dip down into the low 80s at night occasionally.

When the time comes I will build a see-me don't-touch-me area inside the coop, using hardware cloth. I don't have a drake currently so I don't have to worry about premature breeding. But I do worry about the self-serve oyster shell.

 

[gtaus]

This is based on my vast experience of raising ducks, twice. But successfully both times.

Do we have to have bedding?

Yes, some type of bedding is needed so they can walk around. If they slip and slide while walking around the booder, it's not good. Also, ducks make everything wet, so I had more success with pine shavings and wood chips. I tried shredded newspaper, but it just got wet, smelled bad, and was generally a mess.

Can't I just keep them in the kid-pool with their food, water, and heat-plate without bedding?

No, I think you would end up with a slippery, smelly, mess in no time and that would not be good for you or the ducklings.

I used a deep litter method in my chick brooder this year and only had to clean at the end of 8 weeks when I moved the chicks into the coop outside. I used about 6 inches of wood chips in the brooder and I was surprised on how well it kept everything dry and basically odorless (smelled like wood). I would think ducklings would make everything much wetter, and you would probably have to clean up your brooder more often. But really, at this time of year, I don't imagine you will be keeping the ducklings inside very long.

 

[gtaus]

I do have straw. Would that be more or less safe than wood chips for the first few days?

I don't personally care for straw. It gets wet and slippery. I use wood chips now, because I find it works better AND I can get wood chips for free at the local landfill. Having said that, if you already have straw, why not use it and just replace it if it gets wet and slippery.

 

[Enigmius]

I don't personally care for straw. It gets wet and slippery. I use wood chips now, because I find it works better AND I can get wood chips for free at the local landfill. Having said that, if you already have straw, why not use it and just replace it if it gets wet and slippery.

I might. Do you think chopped straw, even if less absorbent and not as pleasantly fragrant like wood chips, would be safer if nibbled on by one week or younger ducklings?