pine shavings

[FloorCandy]

As far as smell, I’ve found the water you provide can often cause the worst smells because it keeps everything wet. I put the clear lid of a Chinese takeout bowl under the water bottles, upside down, to catch the mess like a shallow bowl. I have a few different kinds of waterers, but I’ve found the kind you screw a bottle into and the water comes out into a small catch at the bottom are the easiest. I put some rocks in the little reservoir the water is drank from, so they can’t get their heads and legs way down in there and splash it out as well. The whole thing is Velcro’d to the wall of the brooder, and sits on the Chinese food lid. I change out the lid in the morning and night because it’s always wet and gross, but it saves the bedding around it.

 

[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.

 

[springvalley123]

Hi, I have a few things to add to the great advice you've already gotten, since you're using a new setup. I've moved around a lot, and switched equipment (brooder lamps vs mama heat pad, brooder heater, etc), so I treated each switch as a new startup and am glad I did.

I used a cheap brooder/heater one year, and was so glad I tried it out in the new coop. The new coop had drafts, but what really did it, is that the heater suddenly failed totally and was stone cold!

So to ease your mind, and since there are only three chicks I'd try out the setup overnight. Check it before you go to bed, then check it in the morning. If it's still good and stable, you're good. Just three chicks probably won't add substantial body heat to throw off your settings, but like @Ridgerunner said, you don't want to overheat the chicks.

I gather they're new from the hatchery? If so, I've generally followed the instructions to put paper towels on top of the bedding for a few days, until you see that all 3 chicks know to eat the food and not the shavings. They may still pick through the shavings though.

Best of luck and enjoy the new chicks!

 

[Kirkwooder]

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.

(My wife and started with just 6, 20 some years ago, we haven't been below 20 since. LOL)

 

[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.

 

[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).

 

[TJAnonymous]

I put a big puppy pad on top of a layer of shavings. This has seemed to work out well because the puppy pad soaked up the moisture and the shavings below gave a little padding. My chicks are now 5 days old. I was going to go ahead and remove the puppy pad altogether and just use shavings until they are feathered enough to go in my coop brooder.

 

[rosemarythyme]

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).

My current batch ate "floor particles" - dirt, shavings, wood chip bits, etc. - their first day at home with me. So as a precaution I sprinkled a bit of grit too in all of that. We finally convinced them feed was a good option by throwing it on the wood planks that the feeder was sitting on, and luring them up onto the feeder.