pine shavings

[heather134]

A few questions - we're getting three chicks this weekend. We have seven full-grown hens so I'm prepared for some aspects of chicken raising, but we didn't raise them so there are some things I'm not sure about. It's very cold where I live so we're keeping them indoors for the next few months - starting in our kitchen then moving to the basement when they're older.

Pine shavings lining the tub - should they be regular shavings or fine? We have both since we were just about to switch to fine for our coop (didn't even know that existed!). Or is there a better chance the chicks will eat the fine version, which would be a bad thing?

How long to keep paper towels on shavings? I've seen here that we should put a layer on top of the shavings so they eat real food instead, but should we do this for the first week? Longer?

How often to clean the brooder? Or just when it starts to stink? (that's generally our summer plan for the coop!)

How often to check the brooder for temperature? Do I need to get up in the middle of the night for the first week or two to make sure?

 

[Kirkwooder]

Either fine or course will work fine. I never use paper towel in the brooder. And by all means, send them to the basement right away. The dust from their shedding at this young age is horrendous. Keep a thermometer right in the brooder and clean as needed. If they are noisy check them. You will know, your nose will tell you.

 

[LizzzyJo]

Welcome!

- What breed of chicks? Almost all chicks will be ready to go out into any temp at 6 weeks old. If they're fully feathered they will be A-okay. What temps are we talking here?

- Larger shavings are better, they will eat fine. It is OK if they eat a little bit (I had a dumb cockerel who would swallow shavings right in front of me daily. He was fine.

- Keep the paper towel for the first few days, week is ok.

- Cleaning the brooder depends on the size of it and # of chicks. Generally every other day is normal, but you can spot check and only trade out the messy parts. The cleaner the better and keep it DRY.

- I have a digital thermometer in the brooder and the read out by my bed and yes, I do check it last thing before I go to bed and first moment I wake up when they're little. Remember shutting the door to their room can drastically change the temp.

Good luck!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't use shavings in the brooder so I'll skip those questions.

How often to clean the brooder? Or just when it starts to stink? (that's generally our summer plan for the coop!)

The idea is to keep the brooder dry. If it is dry you should not get any smell and it remains healthy. A wet brooder stinks and is unhealthy. Think of the bedding as a diaper. If it absorbs the moisture from the poop you are in good shape. The poop can build up enough that it doesn't dry out. Stirring up the bedding might help with that but so does removing piles of poop. If your waterer leaks or gets spilled you may need to change it really regularly.

I also use the smell test in the coop to tell me when to clean the droppings boards. I've pretty much learned to scrape them before they start to smell, which might be weekly in humid weather when my number of chickens (chicken density) is relatively high or six weeks if I only have a few and the weather is dry.

How often to check the brooder for temperature? Do I need to get up in the middle of the night for the first week or two to make sure?

Heaven forbid. If you are brooding in a climate controlled location like in your house, once is enough. When I brood in a location with large temperature swings I still don't check. My brooder is outside in the coop, I've seen it go from below freezing to over 70 degrees Fahrenheit in less than 36 hours. My brooder is set up to handle that.

My idea of the perfect brooder is one that has a warm enough spot in the coldest temperatures and a cool enough spot in the warmest conditions. Too much heat is just as dangerous as too much cold. My brooder in the coop is fairly large, 3' x 6'. I use a heat lamp and keep one end toasty even when the outside temperatures are below freezing. I may find ice in the far end of that brooder. But when it is hot the chicks simply go to the far end where it is more comfortable. I find they can manage that on their own straight out of the incubator or from the post office.

I don't know how you are providing heat, there are lots of different ways that can work, either in your house or outside. I don't know how big your brooder is. But if you are brooding in your house somewhere that does not have big temperature swings setting it up so one area is always warm enough and another area is always cool enough should be pretty easy unless you are using a tiny brooder. It doesn't matter if one area is too hot or too cold as long as one area is OK.

 

[Mvan42]

x2
Either type of shavings will be fine. And yes I don't suggest keeping them in the kitchen at all. Not only the dust there is bacteria in that dust. (Chicken Bacteria. you don't want that near where you are eating)

 

[Ridgerunner]

I had no idea about the dust and bacteria. Wow.

Many people don't. Part of that is dander, bits of dried skin or down. Chicks and chickens constantly scratch. They shred the bedding into dust. When the poop dries out they can turn some of that into dust too.

"Cold" around here is between 14 and 30 C this weekend. I suppose that's warm for some of you!

57 and 86 Fahrenheit. I'm sorry but that is funny. At 30 C those chicks don't even need heat. As Bullchick said, watch their behaviors and they will tell you when they are cold or hot.

If you have an outbuilding that has electricity and you can make an area predator proof you can raise them out there. Make it big enough so the far end can cool down, that way the get acclimated. I raise mine in the coop in a large brooder so mine get acclimated. I've had chicks 5-1/2 weeks old go through nights in the mid 20's F (-4 C) with no supplemental heat.

I know it's a big space to heat, but figure then they'll be able to get cool if needed.

You do not want to heat the whole thing. Heat one area and let the rest cool down.

 

[heather134]

You guys are amazing and so helpful! Thanks!

I'm an idiot - between 13 and 30 F - not C! You must think I'm nuts for keeping them indoors for so long if it's that warm! That's what I get for trying to convert and multitask.

57 and 86 Fahrenheit. I'm sorry but that is funny.

Boneheaded on my part! Yeah, that's pretty funny. Thanks for pointing it out!

Mine are similar breeds and have survived two polar vortices with no frostbite or issue.

Very good to know. Hardiness was a big factor in selecting these. My daughter (12 years old) will be showing them at 4H and we had advice that the Welsummer is a very friendly bird, willing to be handled. She's an animal lover so I'm crossing fingers they won't mind some cuddling.

Using a heat lamp - we've kept it set up in the kitchen overnight to see if it stays warm, and in the morning the temp hadn't changed. Course now we'll try that in the basement. Didn't think about the chicks impacting the temp though, so we'll make sure to check that carefully.

Not for nothing, but you should really think about getting more than just three. They always do better in bigger batches. A dozen is a good round number to start with, and that many tend to keep each other warm.

In an ideal world we would! But our community only allows 10 at a time (and our current coop couldn't handle more). This was a last minute decision when one was taken by a hawk last week (the girls had been clamoring for some free-range time - oops). So now we're down to 7 and decided it was a good time to max out our coop. The one that was killed was an older hen, pretty slow, and wasn't laying. All but one of the rest are younger, so I don't anticipate we'll be needing more for a while.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I would do coarse shavings - yes they'll eat shavings and will eat more of the fine ones, so I always aim for the biggest flake shavings I can get. This is why I also provide chick grit immediately, because I know they're eating things other than just feed.

As far as cleaning, probably every 2-3 days - chicks are messy so if they're knocking over food and water, you'll be cleaning more often.

Since you're brooding indoors just checking temperature at the start should be fine. I still don't own a thermometer, I go by their behavior to decide if they're good or need some adjustments.

 

[LizzzyJo]

So helpful! Thank you!
I had no idea about the dust and bacteria. Wow.

Two of the chicks are Welsummer and one is Golden Laced Wyandotte. Getting them locally so they'll be 4-5 days old when we pick them up.

"Cold" around here is between 14 and 30 C this weekend. I suppose that's warm for some of you!

Brooder size is a big galvanized tub we borrowed from a friend who raised five in it last winter. Just approximating, but maybe two feet diameter at the bottom. I know it's a big space to heat, but figure then they'll be able to get cool if needed. She also loaned a feather duster so they can huddle under it. She said her chicks loved it.

Your idea for the digital thermometer is a great one. We were going to go digital but the one we have wasn't working, so had to buy a liquid one.

Once those guys are 4-5 months old they will be able to withstand nearly any cold temp you can throw at them. Mine are similar breeds and have survived two polar vortices with no frostbite or issue. And that was -30f or like -35c!!

Edit to say put them out at 5-6 weeks and don't worry!

 

[3KillerBs]

This is why I also provide chick grit immediately, because I know they're eating things other than just feed.

I was startled when, within half an hour of being unboxed at home, one of my chicks started eating ants and a gang of them tore a spider up (I was brooding in the then-unoccupied coop).