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I use sand...I get sacks of dry sand for my coop dust baths & poop trays..and the little boogers in the brooder get sand too.
They need it to digest, and it is non flammable
So we do not worry about igniting the brooder.
I caught the little devils fighting over & trying to eat shavings before, but it has never seemed to harm them.
On the other hand, while using shavings, I had several babies get busted toes that ended up curling back and it was a pain to tape their toes straight.
The shavings act like snow drifts and I suspect that is why I had broken toes.
I switched back to sand in the brooder & have no more broken toes again.
To clean it, I use one of those big green square grain scoops like Blue Ducklings posted, and scoop it out and right into the garden beds it goes, really helps with the sticky clay soil here.
Ooo, good idea! We have the nasty red sticky messy clay too.
I've put a bunch of sand in the brooder. Great idea!! I really like it. The new duckie princess likes it too.
I have her in one of my giant coolers and it is all quiet now, waiting for Duckie to hatch.
I think I'm going to put sand in the duck coop too. Afterall, ducks probably sleep on sand in the wild.