Sand in brooder? Pine causing sneezing

[Tonyroo]

I prefer paper towels in the begin, it tells a story of there health. So I know right away to keep an eye out on who maybe sick. But after that they go into my outdoor brooder with cut straw bedding and heat lamp.

If your able to acquire fresh grass clippings those work great for bedding.

 

[DobieClose]

Yes, but this causing harm to children is incredibly rare, and more common in developing countries where there are more stray/roaming animals, and where worms are more commonly present in animals and in the environment. Bathtubs are probably more dangerous to children, but there’s no crusade against them.

It’s not as rare as you would think. I know that they took out public sandboxes when lived in rural Hamilton Township. The kids would run into a lot of cat feces. I really didn’t want my kids handling cat feces at school.

https://theweek.com/articles/462366/cats-poop-even-more-dangerous-than-thought

I couldn’t figure out how to attach this article as a file.

 

[DobieClose]

I prefer paper towels in the begin, it tells a story of there health. So I know right away to keep an eye out on who maybe sick. But after that they go into my outdoor brooder with cut straw bedding and heat lamp.

If your able to acquire fresh grass clippings those work great for bedding.

I’m getting my first chicks in a month. This sounds like something I’d like to try at first. Do you use like 1 covering of paper towels a day? Just laid flat out?

 

[DobieClose]

I use a long handled wok spider to clean my poop decks and the run. Easy peasey.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000DZXGLW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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This is a pic of the short handled one. I use it to grab eggs from the nest boxes when I have to gather them from inside the coop (when it’s raining mostly).

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And this is a pic of the poop decks. The low one that the girls are on in this pic is about 18” off the floor. The taller one is almost 4’ off the floor.

Wow. That’s so nice and clean. Did you build it yourself?

 

[Farmgirl1878]

Wow. That’s so nice and clean. Did you build it yourself?

Yep, hubby and I built it a few years ago. He designed it beaded on what I wanted. It’s easy to clean, big enough for my 12 hens, is as safe as Fort Knox, and has lots of light and ventilation. The onay two things I’d change would be to have a people door from the coop into the run and a larger overhang on the roof so I don’t get rained on when I’m locking up!

@DobieClose - you’re in Mansfield? I went to Northmor HS! My brother lives just off of Park Avenue now. Small world!

 

[Farmgirl1878]

I’m getting my first chicks in a month. This sounds like something I’d like to try at first. Do you use like 1 covering of paper towels a day? Just laid flat out?

I use paper towels or puppy pads when I have to raise chicks in the brooder. Plan on going through a lot of either, those little tiny puffballs can POOP! I tend to spend a lot of time with my birds, so cleaned out the brooder several times throughout the day. FYI, putting some Press and Seal Saran Wrap on top of your flat panel heating plate will save you a lot of time cleaning their poop off. They love to hop up on the top and roost or preen or just play Queen of the Mountain…

 

[DobieClose]

I use paper towels or puppy pads when I have to raise chicks in the brooder. Plan on going through a lot of either, those little tiny puffballs can POOP! I tend to spend a lot of time with my birds, so cleaned out the brooder several times throughout the day. FYI, putting some Press and Seal Saran Wrap on top of your flat panel heating plate will save you a lot of time cleaning their poop off. They love to hop up on the top and roost or preen or just play Queen of the Mounta…

That’s good to know. I don’t have one of those anti roost cones for my heater plate.

 

[TamiP]

I use natural, washed, coarse grain river sand in my coop, run, nestboxes, and brooder. I also use a heating plate instead of lights as this allows the babies to have a natural sleep cycle. For the first few days, I put down puppy pads or paper towels on top of the sand so they can easily see the chick chow, but after that, they’re fine on just the sand.

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There are several sizes of brooder and the legs are adjustable so you can have it higher in the front. I stick some Press and Seal Saran Wrap on the top to make it easier to clean.

Does this help keep the poo off their feet? I have 4 Silkies that I hatched and are now 2 weeks old and am thinking of putting them on just this type of sand.

 

[raingarden]

Be careful using sand with a heating light. Somehow it gets very hot; much hotter than shavings would.

 

[AGeese]

Does this help keep the poo off their feet? I have 4 Silkies that I hatched and are now 2 weeks old and am thinking of putting them on just this type of sand.

Better than flake does. The sand can muck up, but it tends to drop off after a bit, you still need to spot clean, but it's easier in my opinion.