Shavings vs. Sand in brooder

[Shogun99]

I actually use fresh cut grass from my lawnmower. The chicks seem to LOVE it and voraciously attack any and all little bugs that they can get. Its free, the chix like it, and they don't get poop on their feet. I posted on the site too to see if there was any harm that could occur and no one said it could. Chix are all healthy, happy and the fuzzy butts continue to grow.

 

[Maryallison77]

I used paper towels. The day olds have can sometimes have a hard time standing and the paper towels help with that. Poor cuties with their toothpick sized legs!!!!

 

[BawkinOnTheBench]

I use sand in the coop, but shavings in the brooder. Mine is is my basement bathroom - I figured lugging sand would be too heavy and I'd never get it all out. For the first week I used paper towels over the shavings - that was really nice - you could just roll up the paper towels every night and presto- nice and clean. You kind of have to tuck it down over the shavings like sheets on a mattress, or they WILL drag out the shavings.

 

[MandyH]

I use peat moss in the brooders and sand EVERYWHERE else. We get fine sand out of the creek bed out back and it is WONDERFUL for any low spots or wetspots in the yard or pasture. We try to keep about 6 inches of sand in all the coops and it works wonders. There's virtually no smell, clean up is done by the chickens, they love to scratch and take dust baths in the sand.

 

[Smoky73]

I have used sand in the brooders the last two year and it worked great. The thing with the chicks eating the sand instead of the food, well, that only happens the first two weeks and they also warn you about that with shvings, which is why it is recommended to cover whatever you use, the first two weeks with papertowels or something similar. I never did it personally and had no problems with the chicks eating nothing but sand. The sand is nice and toasty for them because of the heat lamps, like a day at the beach LOL. It was also very easy to clean and stunk less because you can take a metal strainer (colander) and sift out the poo.

Anyway, THIS year, after visiting a friends coop who has an awesome set up I learned a new thing and I used it this year.
This year, I used nothing but a 1/2 bag of feed on the floor of the brooder. It was awesome. Has the same effect essentially as using the sand, and its OK if the chicks eat it, they are supposed to. No worries about getting shavings or anything else all over their food dish, it they do eat the feed and not the poo in case anyone was wondering. I just take a dust pan and swipe out the top layer of food and poo if need be when they get older, but it takes a while for them to get it dirty. They dig down so well into everything it was awesome. I brooded chicks in the one 3x4 cage (dog crate) with a bag of feed...fron January to August and never wasted any more. I never had to be worried did the kids run out of food over night, etc. And I used a ceramic tile on the feed to place a waterer

Here is a not so great pic of the feed under a baby...

 

[Catalina]

I know this is an old post, but Smoky73 what an interesting idea!

I never would have thought of that!

 

[Fancie]

I have used the grit you get at Walmart for about $2 a box. I don't like shavings as they get in the food and water.

But to clean the sand I took a coffee contaner with both ends removed and zip tied some window screen to one end. I put the sand in and shift it, all the poop and food stay in the container while the sand falls back down to the floor..

My 2 - cents

 

[KattyKillFish]

honestly, i use dry grass from outside in the spring, fresh cut lawn grass in the summer, fireweed leaves in late summer/early fall, willow leaves in late fall and stored dried cut lawn grass int he winter...
fireweed leaves work best for me. they keep the bugs off and it covers any poop stink. it's good for the chicks if they eat it, too!

works great for me! and it's free!

 

[mabstr]

I also used chick feed in the bottom of the brooder. That is how Southern States has their chicks displayed. Worked great, just cleaned top layer everyday and sometimes twice a day Chicks doing great.

 

[red hen in the rain]

i use shavings after 3 days of newspaper, but included a deep tray of sand for dust-bath, grit and play time after the first week. In their bigger brooder room now, I am using a cat-pan full of clean river sand from my front yard in one corner of the brooder room, the rest is deep-litter shavings. The "play sand" at home improvement stores would be fine as well. To keep them from kicking litter into the food and water containers, i have placed those items up on concrete blocks (the kind with two big holes). The chicks like to climb up an drink, and run through the holes, and so far they can't kick the shavings high enough to foul the water. . I think sand is great for their feet and they love dust-bathing in it.