pine bedding

[suzyq53511]

My chicks will be a week old tomorrow! Wohoo! Can i start using pine bedding now? or should i wait longer?

 

[gritsar]

As long as they are well aware of where their food is, go for it!
You may see them pick up a piece of the pine shavings from time to time. That's how they learn what's food and what's not. Just like human peeps, everything goes in the mouth. Don't worry, they won't eat enough to harm them.

 

[suzyq53511]

awesome!! running out of old sheets lol

 

[mdbokc]

I have used pine shavings since day one on each batch. I never knew you shouldn't.

 

[outback hatcher]

Quote:
Me too as a matter of fact just took 9 out of the bator and straight to the brooder with pine shavings.
As long as I don't have any problems I'll probably keep on using them

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Me too. I started to use them, but my DH stopped me. Seems they don't use them in the commercial chicken houses (he's an ex-commercial broiler farmer) when they have 30,000 chicks at a time in each house.

 

[suzyq53511]

30,000 thats a lot of chicks at once

 

[jadeflower999]

I've always used pine bedding since day one too, never had any problems with it.

 

[chickerdoodle]

It is not recommended to use shavings until they know what's really food--often takes only a day or two. Its best (again as some folks obviously haven't had issues with it) to cover the shavings with a few layers of paper towels for good footing (to prevent spradle leg) and sprinkle some chick starter around the feeders to help them figure out what they should eat. Tapping the feeder helps as their mom would peck at it to show them. Newspaper is too slick and should be avoided. The paper towels can be removed by the layers to keep it clean as they poop a lot!

As for using and shavings--there can be unfavorable consequences. Hardwood of any kind is more likely to get mold if it gets wet and should not be used. Cedar in particular has toxins that can cause serious respiratory problems and also should not be used. Even pine can sometimes cause problems but not as frequently or severe. Aspen is the best choice for safety but is not as easy to get in some areas and may not be as absorbent as pine. It's for these reasons many use pine shavings and is certainly a good choice if you monitor your chicks often. It is always a good idea to have plenty of ventilation near the top of the brooder even for chicks as long as you can keep the temperature regulated for them. As an extra precaution I also open the bag of shavings a few days before I use it to air out the strong scent which is part of the issue.

So that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

 

[goldnchocolate]

In the past I've used shavings since day one but the past few years I used a layer of paper towels for the first couple of days. This year I'm not using shavings, I'm using wood pellets instead. I'm still having a problem with dust getting on everything, so I guess the dust wasn't coming from the shavings, but I like the wood pellets because the chicks don't scratch them into the food and water the way they did with the shavings and so far it has helped with the odor.