Tips for minimizing smell and dust in indoor brooder?

[Flixflaxnoob]

I'm in Western PA and will be getting about 2-week old chicks this weekend. The temps here are still dipping below freezing so I moved my brooder (cardboard-lined XL dog crate) to one corner of my kitchen far from food prep, but I'm sure I'm still underestimating how smelly and dusty it will be. I already run an air filter in the kitchen all day already. I will only have 6 chicks, so I'm hoping it won't be as bad. Any tips to minimizing the smell and dust? Here is what I am thinking so far:

• 3 inches of pine shaving flakes for bedding: planning to use a sort of deep litter method of aerating and adding additional layers of bedding on top + spot cleaning. Should I still be replacing all the bedding occasionally with this method? What other methods do people prefer to minimize mess?
• Elevate feeder and waterer on bricks: Should I add anything additional below to minimize moisture?
• Add roost bars: would this help to concentrate droppings to one area for easier cleaning?

 

[Debbie292d]

We use paper towels changed often the first 3-4 days, then horse bedding pellets. Those absorb the poop so no smell at all. We have two brooders in our living room and have no smells. There still is a little dust but it is reduced as the pellets let it sink in. We put a container of dirt/grit in there as of course, just like flakes, they'll eat a bit before they realize it's gross. 100% pine, so safe.

 

[Flixflaxnoob]

We use paper towels changed often the first 3-4 days, then horse bedding pellets. Those absorb the poop so no smell at all. We have two brooders in our living room and have no smells. There still is a little dust but it is reduced as the pellets let it sink in. We put a container of dirt/grit in there as of course, just like flakes, they'll eat a bit before they realize it's gross. 100% pine, so safe.

I was thinking of putting paper towels down under the bedding.

I already have pine shavings, so will be using that. The chicks will be almost 2 weeks old by the time I get them and I think they will already be accustomated to it.

 

[Debbie292d]

I was thinking of putting paper towels down under the bedding.

I already have pine shavings, so will be using that. The chicks will be almost 2 weeks old by the time I get them and I think they will already be accustomated to it.

May as well use them up, but I don't know that putting down paper towels beneath them helps with the smell. It's worth a try as it doesn't hurt anything.

We've used the horse bedding in our coop for about 8 years and only change that every spring, but it was only this past year we tried them in the brooders hearing others did that. Wow, game changer!!

 

[Huntmaster]

I would change out bedding as needed and not trying deep litter method. Paper towels under bedding may help with removing bedding / cleaning but won't help with smell. Keeping up with clean bedding you shouldn't have much of a smell. As far as dust that mostly comes from dander from chicks not much you can do about that but your air filter and dusting regularly.