What do you folks suggest to use as litter on the floor of your brooder for baby chicks? I have used pine shavings in the past but wasn't particularly pleased with it.
The Brooder Floor
- Thread starter Welsummer Rancher
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Some say use paper towels, some say pine shavings, I have used paper (old junk mail) that has ben ran through a shredder. It is free and very absorbent and not hard to change. Just my .02!
I have read to use paper towels for the first week or two to avoid spraddle leg and then you can go with the pine shavings. That is what I am doing. I used pine shavings when I got my first chickens as month olds and I liked using them. Of course that was in the warmer months when I could keep the brooder in the barn. Right now I have mine inside and still on paper towels. I am going to change over to pine shavings this weekend and I am not sure how well they will work in the house.
I put a few layers of paper towels over pine shavings. Sometimes all I needed to do was pull a layer of paper towels off and it was nearly clean in there. Around the 4th day, the paper towels were removed, as they had figured out to eat the feed instead of the occasional pine shaving. If I ever brood again, this is what I will do, unless I happen to have a source of something free like shredded junk mail. (I don't get that much junk mail and I burn any with ID on it.) Since it was in the house I used lots of pine shavings. I even moved the bulk of them to their dirt floor coop when they went outside, then covered with fresh.
In nature, either in the forest from whence all our chickens have come or in the barn under the broody hen, one won't fine paper towel.
Sorry. But there's a truism here. The brooder hen picks up sticks of straw and makes a nest. Sometimes it is hollow in pine needles or pine straw. Shavings and clean straw are fine from day one, of course, as is paper towel, all kidding aside.
Slick, slippery print or cardboard should absolutely be avoided. There's no slick news print or color print in nature either.
Sorry. But there's a truism here. The brooder hen picks up sticks of straw and makes a nest. Sometimes it is hollow in pine needles or pine straw. Shavings and clean straw are fine from day one, of course, as is paper towel, all kidding aside.
Slick, slippery print or cardboard should absolutely be avoided. There's no slick news print or color print in nature either.
I've been using Pine Shavings until I ran out. Now it's old Junk mail, shredded by hand.
Paper is very absorbent and easy to change.
Paper is very absorbent and easy to change.
- Thread starter
- #8
Thank you all for the replies. I'll do the paper towels and then pine shavings.
- Nov 10, 2010
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Fred's Hens :
In nature, either in the forest from whence all our chickens have come or in the barn under the broody hen, one won't fine paper towel.
Sorry. But there's a truism here. The brooder hen picks up sticks of straw and makes a nest. Sometimes it is hollow in pine needles or pine straw. Shavings and clean straw are fine from day one, of course, as is paper towel, all kidding aside.
Slick, slippery print or cardboard should absolutely be avoided. There's no slick news print or color print in nature either.
i had to rescue 2 chicks from my broody hen ( who has made her nest with straw - which i supply of course
) but i had to put together a brooder in a hurry and we dont use papertowels or pine shavings here, so straw was the natural
- and only choice we had and it seems to be working fine! i figured the other 8 chicks were out on the straw with mama, and 1 of the 2 hatched on the straw so that was that. on day 2 when they really start to get going, ahh pooping that is... i just put some of the clean stuff from underneath on top and then -day 4 changed out everything and put all fresh straw down. i bought 4 light brahma chicks to put in the brooder and the box they were in had shavings in it - seems messy to me - ill stick with straw! and tonight the chicks are being so funny with the straw - one will pick a big piece of straw up, start chirping, then runs and everyone chases!!
they are so cute!
In nature, either in the forest from whence all our chickens have come or in the barn under the broody hen, one won't fine paper towel.
Sorry. But there's a truism here. The brooder hen picks up sticks of straw and makes a nest. Sometimes it is hollow in pine needles or pine straw. Shavings and clean straw are fine from day one, of course, as is paper towel, all kidding aside.
Slick, slippery print or cardboard should absolutely be avoided. There's no slick news print or color print in nature either.
i had to rescue 2 chicks from my broody hen ( who has made her nest with straw - which i supply of course
We're doing puppy pads (do you know what those are?) for the first week and then pine shavings. I was going to use paper towels but like the puppy pads since they are soft on one side but plastic on the other for easy cleanup.
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