The importance of bedding

[MomFoldingLaundry]

up until recently, I neglected bedding in my brooders, just using paper towel or whatever I had around. Likewise, I mostly used leaves from the yard in my raised coops, while my main coop is on the ground.

well, the other night, somehow, the plug for my brooder lamps got knocked loose. (Probably by the dogs.) I woke up at 5 am, looked out the window and saw the lights were out on my 2 day old chicks!

this time, however, I’d put a whole bunch of bedding in my brooder— pine shavings as well as shredded paper. When I went to check on the chicks, they were all huddled in a corner, having partially buried themselves in the bedding. All alive!

I don’t know how long the heat was out, but the brooder was the same temperate as the air outside, 68 degrees. Luckily, thats the lowest it gets in Hawaii even in winter.

still, I’m convinced thr bedding saved them. Without that insulation, they would have gotten a lot colder a lot faster. from now on, I’m going to take bedding a lot more seriously! Bare ground is fine...until it isn’t!

 

[Corbdee]

up until recently, I neglected bedding in my brooders, just using paper towel or whatever I had around. Likewise, I mostly used leaves from the yard in my raised coops, while my main coop is on the ground.

well, the other night, somehow, the plug for my brooder lamps got knocked loose. (Probably by the dogs.) I woke up at 5 am, looked out the window and saw the lights were out on my 2 day old chicks!

this time, however, I’d put a whole bunch of bedding in my brooder— pine shavings as well as shredded paper. When I went to check on the chicks, they were all huddled in a corner, having partially buried themselves in the bedding. All alive!

I don’t know how long the heat was out, but the brooder was the same temperate as the air outside, 68 degrees. Luckily, thats the lowest it gets in Hawaii even in winter.

still, I’m convinced thr bedding saved them. Without that insulation, they would have gotten a lot colder a lot faster. from now on, I’m going to take bedding a lot more seriously! Bare ground is fine...until it isn’t!

Good idea to start using bedding! Not using bedding can also actually cause other problems as well. If you just have paper towel, or newspaper’s, their joints can get messed up as well.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

We have a similar experience with baby rabbits. They need their nest to stay warm but sometimes they get pulled out of the nest. If the cage is full of bedding they stay alive longer and have more opportunity for us to see what went wrong and save them.

 

[MomFoldingLaundry]

Yeah, I’m going to go to the feed store today and better investigate my bedding options. The problem is that a bag of pine shavings here costs $17. Pretty sure that’s more than twice the price on the mainland.

A bale of hay is a better investment, but hay gets moldy here. I dont know how that would affect quail, or even if it would affect them. I just know that if it gets wet, hay gets super waterlogged and gross. Not great for my outdoor coops.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

I like poultry bedding from Mallard Creek
https://mallardcreekinc.com/product/premium-poultry-bedding/ It's about $15 in Honolulu, not sure if it is available or what it costs on Kauai. The quantity can last me for months, even when I use it regularly for the bunny box too.

Also, the warmed rice sock is wonderful! It holds heat even when other temperatures drop. Take uncooked rice, place in sock and microwave for 60-90 seconds until warm. Place under felt, or towel. If it get really cold, the chicks will even burrow under the towel to keep warm.

 

[Kel60]

Yeah, I’m going to go to the feed store today and better investigate my bedding options. The problem is that a bag of pine shavings here costs $17. Pretty sure that’s more than twice the price on the mainland.

A bale of hay is a better investment, but hay gets moldy here. I dont know how that would affect quail, or even if it would affect them. I just know that if it gets wet, hay gets super waterlogged and gross. Not great for my outdoor coops.

Ouch! Try four times! I get it for 5ish for a huge bail of it at farm and Fleet. A single bail lasts a month with regular changes in my whole coup with some left over for the chickens!

My cousin lived in Hawaii for a few years, god, it's insane how much more stuff costs! I mean I get why, but yikes.

If your just using it in the brooder check a regular Pet store for the shredded paper bedding. You might be able to get it cheaper that way