Overthinking it all! Shavings in brooder?

[dreamofwinter]

Hi everyone - I am so grateful for all the information here on BYC!
My chicks arrived last week (Weds) from McMurray, healthy and bright. I have 11: 4 dark Brahmas, 3 Buff Orpingtons, 3 Barred Rocks, and my surprise chick and future lap chicken, a Blue Laced Red Wyandotte (the sweetest, cuddliest baby ever).

Currently they're living on my mud porch in a cardboard brooder. I've got them on puppy pads and they have a Brinsea Ecoglow 1200 for heat, which is doing the job just fine. They cuddle under it for naps and take lots of adventuring trips out for water, food, and general mayhem. One of the Barred Rocks only wants to be on top of the heat plate; I guess she's designated herself as lookout and probably top hen later.

My question, though, is whether it's safe to take the puppy pads out and put them on shavings? I've seen a lot of differing opinions here. I worry about the flat surface and their joint development, especially for the four Brahmas. I'd also like to expand the brooder soon as they're growing and getting the "zoomies" and need more space, but I'd rather not do that if I have to put more puppy pads (right now there are 2 in the brooder and they have to be switched at least daily, more like twice a day. Lotta healthy pooping going on here!).

Opinions?
Also, any suggestions for enrichment for them? Right now they have food, water, and warmth but they're starting to explore and play.

I raised chicks once before, in 2004, and I don't remember overthinking it so much! I guess ignorance was bliss. Or maybe after spending the past two springs raising baby songbirds for a wildlife rehab I've realized just how fragile and also how indestructible birds are - such walking contradictions!

Photo from the day they arrived:

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I put them on shavings from as soon as I get them

 

[azygous]

Adorable little bunch! Yes, give them the shavings. They will be fine. They know by this time what food is. If you are still worried about them eating the shavings, which all chicks do to a certain extent, sprinkle chick grit where they can scratch in it and pick up what their systems crave.

 

[dreamofwinter]

Thank you both! That's what I needed, some reassurance from the voices of experience

They definitely know where the feeder is, the little piggies. It's been a delight watching them grow and develop personalities.

 

[azygous]

By enrichment, are you referring to toys? How about making some like these.

One is a tennis ball with red dots drawn onto it with red magic marker. The other is a block of wood with a window foam noodle stapled to it - caulking with red stripes made by sticking red duct tape to it. I also drew red dots onto their heating pad cover for them to peck at as you can see one chick doing in the photo.

 

[dreamofwinter]

Ah, yep, toys or other "learning" type things, that's what I meant. I like your ideas! Chicks are such busybodies, so I wanted to give mine things to do.

 

[azygous]

I came up with those toys when that current batch of chicks were pecking each others vents and making them bloody. Creating the toys solved that problem.