Pine Shavings and Chicks?????

[emvickrey]

I use paper towels for about a week. Then I start adding cedar shavings. I have always used them until I read that they are bad. I have never had a problem with them. I didn't have a problem with the pine shavings either. I use a large clear plastic storage tub with an expandable screen over the top. Depending on the temperature, depends on what extent I go to to cover them so heat will stay in. I also use a 20 gal and 50 gal aquariums as brooders.

 

[Fluffy-Butt-Farms]

ty. i can go stick my nose in the bag no problem

my new batch will definately be on towels for a few days.

if any more die...everyones getting towels.

 

[Hoosiermomma]

I used paper towel and straw the first week then we switched over to pine shavings, and have never once had a problem.

 

[Fluffy-Butt-Farms]

ty everyone. i feel better now.

i need to take pics of my brooder, it's really neat. we found a shelving system at the hospital that they were throwing out. they used it to hold their paper. we knocked out shelves, made it 2 brooders, made fronts with wire, added lightbulbs and a dimmer switch, and had an instant brooder. (4 feet long, 1 1/2 feet wide) with plenty of room for everyone. the closet door is open all day long, just closed at night when it's chilly, so they get plenty of ventillation (and it's a mobile home, so there's like 2 inches from bottom of door to floor anyway with it closed)

guess i'm just a paranoid mama hen

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I've brooded at least a couple of hundred chicks using kiln-dried pine shavings. They are all I've used these last several years. This being a horse area they are cheap and easy to find and have never caused any problems. I wouldn't use air-dried shavings though. The one time I bought them (they were cheaper) they were damp in the middle of the bale and smelled musty. Bad news for chicks. Never had a problem with the kiln-dried variety though.

.....Alan.

 

[Bizzybirdy]

I use Aspen bedding in my brooders and starter pens for the chickies. I raise parrots and Lovebirds and ALWAYS used Aspen in all their nest boxes...for over 25 years...and never lost a baby. TSC sells Aspen bedding in large bales. It is a little more costly than pine but doesn't smell at all, packs down better (easier for me to clean), and doesn't fly all over the place. Some pet shops sell it in the rabbit section.

I put pine shavings in the pens for larger chickens but cover it with straw as sometimes my silly roos will try to eat a piece or two. So far none have died from it.

 

[Kittymomma]

I've used the pine shavings with no problems too. I am going to try pine pellets next time though. Someone else (don't remember who) was talking about them on another thread and it sounds like the pellets don't get as dusty.

My brooder is in the garage, but I don't put the chicks out until around 4-weeks so I can avoid having to use a heat lamp in the small pen--The amount of dust they kick up between 3-4 weeks old is unreal!

 

[Maggies Pop]

We have used pine since getting ours when they were a day old. So far so good. They are 4.5 wks old.

 

[Tailfeathers]

If you do a search on here for "Shavings" you will find a plethora of opinions - and some fairly strong debates.

I've used pine, cedar, and fir without any problems. I used to mix about 75% pine and/or fir with cedar only because the cedar was a bit more expensive. A few weeks ago I cleaned out my little 4x8x4' chick house and was resupplying it with shavings later that night. The next day I realized I'd made a mistake and used 100% cedar shavings on the floor. About 3-4" worth.

Well, they've been in there about for 3-4 weeks now without any problems at all. I've not only seen them drink water with the cedar shavings in it but I've seen the stupid potlickers actually eat the shavings themselves.

So much for cedar being toxic. I wouldn't equate the deaths of your two chicks to the pine shavings. Some time back a lady on here wrote that she saw one of her roosters fall over dead immediately while eating a banana. She automatically connected the banana to the death. You can't make the leap here either as you are correct, if it were the shavings most likely all your chicks would have shown symptoms. The exception would be a case where the chick (or chicks) developed some respiratory problem which most likely means they would easily develop respiratory problems if they got a cold, or too much ammonia in the air, etc.

God Bless,

 

[oldchickenman]

we start our chicks in rubber made containers on paper towels for 1 -2 weeks then move them to 4x4 wooden brooders with 1 -2 inches equine bedding pellets tractor supply had the pellets .