Official BYC Poll: What Bedding Do YOU Use in The Brooder?

[addctd2plnts]

I have ducks only, so I use Puppy Pads because they absorb a huge amount of water. I'd rather change them often and it's less messy to just remove the puppy pads. At about 3 weeks we move them into a large pen and use large flaked pine shavings, so they don't eat them.

 

[ameraucana_anna_524]

I use aspen shavings, as they're not as aromatic as cedar or pine. I swear by them!

 

[allameraucana]

So .. my brooder was a cardboard box and I put shelf liners on the bottom so they wouldn't slip and get splay leg.. then I used pine flakes. For the first couple days I had puppy pads on top of that. I have continued with the pine flakes in the coop. Works great for me!

 

[TamiP]

I start out with blue shop paper towels to help them get their footing and after I can raise the heat up farther I use sand. I tried sand to help keep the quails' feet clean and it's working out really well for my Silkie chicks. Their feet are really clean even with all the feathers on them.

 

[IdahoTaterHead]

We find that flaked pine shavings work best - no health or lung problems and very absorbent, very very good at odor control.

Be sure to examine the shavings ... only buy the LARGE shavings. The itty bitty dusty-ish shavings contribute to pasty-butt issues while the large ones do not. Easy to scoop out with a dust pan, and can be refreshed a few times just by sprinkling some new over the dirty...

 

[Obsessed With Silkies]

For the first week of them being chicks, I'll use paper towels so they can have a soft flat surface to walk on and it keeps their feet steady as they're learning new things. After that, I use pine shavings up until adults and use it in their coop.

 

[Baker_eggs]

I always use pine shavings. They work well, but they always get in the food/water. I’ve never tried any thing else.

 

[IdahoTaterHead]

<snip>
I like dry leaves, but have also used hay, straw, pine shavings, sawdust from pine pellets, material scooped from the compost pile, occasional shovels full of dirt, clumps of sod, etc. The usual result is a mixture, not just one type or another.<snip>

I like this. Especially if combined with the 'deep bedding' idea where you don't generally clean out the coop very often and just refresh now and then. The deeper layers will compost, break down, and provide B-vitamins for the chickens... this is healthy. Composting bedding helps heat the coop during cold winters too. I often clean out just before winter and just after the world around me thaws in the Spring. Summer, if warm, may need more cleanings.

And when you do clean out the coop, put the mix into the composter ... there is NOTHING finer than this type of chicken compost for the garden... ultra-healthy gardens come from old chicken poop and bedding!

 

[IdahoTaterHead]

I always use pine shavings. They work well, but they always get in the food/water. I’ve never tried any thing else.

When they're chicks, use a 1-1/2 inch thick piece of wood (1 layer of 2x6 wood) to raise the waterer and feeder off the deck a bit. As they morph into pullets, when you transition to the next size up feeder and waterer, put together a 3 inch thick platform (2 layers of 2x8 wood). This really helps on the 'shavings and poops in the water' issue. Keep apple-cider vinegar in the water and it'll go along way to keeping rot and slime from forming in the waterer (but not in a galvanized waterer ... don't leach zinc into the chicken water!)

 

[3KillerBs]

When they're chicks, use a 1-1/2 inch thick piece of wood (1 layer of 2x6 wood) to raise the waterer and feeder off the deck a bit. As they morph into pullets, when you transition to the next size up feeder and waterer, put together a 3 inch thick platform (2 layers of 2x8 wood). This really helps on the 'shavings and poops in the water' issue. Keep apple-cider vinegar in the water and it'll go along way to keeping rot and slime from forming in the waterer (but not in a galvanized waterer ... don't leach zinc into the chicken water!)

I keep a supply of blocks, bricks, and pavers that I use to constantly raise the feed and water as the chicks grow.