question about pine shavings

[ellijaychickens]

I have 13 chicks and 2 ducklings in my brooder how often should I change bedding out generally?

 

[Spartan22]

I have 13 chicks and 2 ducklings in my brooder how often should I change bedding out generally?

 

[Spartan22]

Depends on the size of brooder, I got 14, 2 1/2 wks chicks in a 150 gal trough. I clean it out every 3 days. But top it off w/ new shavings every morning, so they're not sitting on fresh droppings and control smell.

 

[PapaChaz]

yeah it really depends on the size of the brooder. My brooder was 2x2 and 8ft long. There was plenty of room in there for the 14 i had. I started out with about 3" of pine shavings, with some sweet pdz sprinkled in for good measure. every couple of days when it would begin to smell, add some more shavings and mix it all up. You want dry shavings mixed in to absorb the moisture from the poo, when it's dry it doesn't smell. After it would get 7 or 8 inches deep and begin to smell, I'd scoop it all out, and start over.

worked pretty well for me

 

[Spartan22]

Papachaz,

Someone on other thread said that pdz are not recommended for chicks? Is there truth to that? What's in pdz anyways?

 

[Clucksandgiggle]

Sweet PDZ is a deodorizer. It's often used as a horse stall freshener.

 

[ellijaychickens]

Thank you all. It doesn't smell at all. Yet... But I've been kinda mixing it up whenever it looks like they've been playin in the waterer so it'll dry

 

[Kylea0219]

I am a nut about cleaning the bedding. Sweet pdz is a life saver. I changed the bedding once a week in the small brooder I had and every week and a half to two weeks in a 4x4 kiddie pool. They had to go out to their coop when They got to big for the 4x4 kiddie pool (7 weeks) because I couldn't keep up with changing the bedding. It also helped a lot to change there waterer to a nipple waterer so the didn't spill it and ruin all their bedding. Mold is so bad for their respiratory systems and it can grow quickly it they keep spilling their water and getting a lot of bedding in it. Water seems to be what makes them smell. If you keep their bedding nice and dry and sprinkle some sweet pdz around it won't smell at all. They also dust bathe in the sweet pdz and that's just fun to watch. Good luck with you chicks and ducklings. oh and Granual sweet pdz worked great all my chicks are healthy and it is ok for them to eat a little of it. Its just like chick grit. Its made from a specific kind of rock, ground up. If they get to dusty from the powder that could be bad. Just make sure they are well ventilated.