Sand in the brooder -- it's worth it!

[Wilson Chickens]

I am curious about the sand in the brooder. My 6 lil peeps will be arriving on Monday and I had a neighbor tell me to not do sand in the brooder because the chicks constantly eat and they'd eat the sand and choke themselves on it. They recommened wood chips instead. Would I be able to cover the sand for a few days with paper towels till they figured out their food source and then remove the paper towels?

 

[kada6305]

I am curious about the sand in the brooder. My 6 lil peeps will be arriving on Monday and I had a neighbor tell me to not do sand in the brooder because the chicks constantly eat and they'd eat the sand and choke themselves on it. They recommened wood chips instead. Would I be able to cover the sand for a few days with paper towels till they figured out their food source and then remove the paper towels?

you will be fine with the sand, all chickens need sand for grit anyway when fed treats, this way they always have access to it. I covered my pine shavings for about 4 days until I was sure they knew where their food was

 

[OlivesMama]

Yes, what Kada said- they need grit anyway if eating anything but chick starter. Think about chickens and chicks that are not kept by people and just roam. They Think Hawaii- there werewolf chickens everywhere! would be foraging and consuming all kinds of things, including dirt and sand as well as bugs, etc. Mine started to eat the pellets when they turned to sawdust. I would much rather have them eating sand (grit) rather than shavings. I did use paper towels in half of the brooder until they started to scratch it up and tried to eat it!

 

[Bellatrixed]

kada6305 - That's an interesting set up! For what it's worth, the heat lamp does in fact make the sand hotter than shavings, but I've had no problems with it if I just use a lower wattage bulb or raise the lamp. You can find a height/watt that makes it a comfortable temperature for the babies.

Wilson Chickens - The chicks will eat the sand a little, but it's perfectly natural for them. Think about chickens raised by their mothers outside--they will eat dirt, tiny rocks, and whatever else they are interested in. I always cover any bedding I'm using with papertowels for the first day to make sure they won't eat it. Also, chickens aren't dumb enough to eat the sand "constantly"--they like to poke through it and pick up a piece that looks interesting, but even at just a few days old my chicks could distinguish between feed that was dropped in the sand and sand.

 

[Wilson Chickens]

Thanks for the reassurance about the sand. I went ahead and put sand in the brooder. The chicks peck at it a little but I'm going to cover it for the first few days till they know where their food dish is. I use fermented feed which is supposed to be healthier for them or something. Its chick starter soaked in water for several days.

 

[Tarac]

I switched mine from kitchen towels to sand when the youngest was 5 days old. I used plain old Florida sugar sand from outside. They didn't eat an excessive amount and have dust bathed and everything. It is just as messy as the towels but it is easy to sift clean. I like it personally if the word of a newbie means much. No problems so far. I noticed my mille fleur d'uccles feet are cleaner on the sand.

 

[Wilson Chickens]

Thanks Tarac. Any opinion is good. I checked on my chicks a few minutes ago and they have settled in very well. They are eating and drinking out of their waterer and feeder very well now and have dust bathed too. Super excited about them.

 

[Tarac]

Good! It's really fun to watch them on sand I think, it looks really "natural" for them. I sort of went with that mode of thinking- a chance to be exposed to local pathogens in small doses plus more like what a mama hen could provide. Mine did not have any trouble over eating sand at all.

 

[HomesteadDebi]

I've been reading around here about using sand. My girls are 3 & 4 weeks old, so they are still in the brooder, in the house. In the last few days, they have suddenly started smelling much, much worse. I use pine shavings. I changed the shavings on Saturday and by Sunday night the smell was almost unbearable!

I looked at the premium play sand at Lowe's. It's $3.57/50lb bag. My question is: For those who use sand in their brooder in the house, how bad is the dust? The girls are naturally getting dustier. I understand that. I want to know if dust bathing is going to cause it to be a LOT worse? If there is not much difference and it helps with the odor, I am all for it. They try to dust bathe in the shavings, poor dears. So, I know they will be dust bathing in the sand.

 

[Bellatrixed]

I've been reading around here about using sand. My girls are 3 & 4 weeks old, so they are still in the brooder, in the house. In the last few days, they have suddenly started smelling much, much worse. I use pine shavings. I changed the shavings on Saturday and by Sunday night the smell was almost unbearable!

I looked at the premium play sand at Lowe's. It's $3.57/50lb bag. My question is: For those who use sand in their brooder in the house, how bad is the dust? The girls are naturally getting dustier. I understand that. I want to know if dust bathing is going to cause it to be a LOT worse? If there is not much difference and it helps with the odor, I am all for it. They try to dust bathe in the shavings, poor dears. So, I know they will be dust bathing in the sand.

The dust was so bad for me that I had to not use that room in my house after about week 2 and couldn't go in without a dust mask...

However, I used Sweet PDZ which added to the dust by a LOT, and they were also in the house til they were a month which was a disaster. They were only in for that long since bad weather prevented their coop from being done any sooner. If they were a lot younger and no PDZ was in the sand I imagine the dust would be a lot better. It was a nightmare though lol.