What bedding to use?

[Delta3013]

And thank ya'll for the suggestions. I'm gitting them today at 3:30pm for my FFA project.

Can't wait....but I got to go to work 1st...

...

 

[greenriver]

Hello all....what about ground corn cob? Lot of that here in Illinois

 

[junglegal]

I have 5 1/2 week old silkies in with 6 day old chicks. They have taken them under their wing and are being so sweet. I am using a rubbermaid container as their housing. The silkie's being older really kick the pine shavings around. I am noticing they all are having a tough time on the slick plastic bottom. I am changing their bedding daily. Is it ok to put several sheets of newspaper down to curb their sliding?
Thanks

 

[FarmerJohn3285]

My father-in-law cut down some pine trees, sent the branches through the chipper. They are chipped really fine. BUT my question to yall is to whether I should go pick it up to use in my brooder as bedding or will it be a bad thing to do?? as in will the chickies try to eat it? What if I use paper towels/newspaper until they learn where their food is, and then transfer them to pine wood chips????


Thanks for the input!!

 

[heatherndoug]

We started with Paper towels after about 2 weeks we are now using Straw. Very inexpensive by the bale. Just keep it dry. You dont want any mold to grow in it.

 

[Delta3013]

Thats what im going to do when they hit 2 weeks...use hay/straw.

 

[Chick Charm]

I have personally used pine shavings for many reasons but the first being they are ok to use with the birds. Pine shavings also break down fast in the compost and do indeed help with the smell in the coop.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Quote:
There's a difference between fresh wood chips and pine shavings that are used for stall/animal bedding. Wood chips are coarse and large and full of moisture so they are not very absorptive and prone to mold which can be bad for chicks. Pine shavings are usually a by product of the lumber industry and are kiln dried so they they are light, absorbent, smell pretty good.

I did one time buy some shavings that had been air dried. The bale was damp in the middle and did not smell good. Those became mulch and I had to go back into town to find some proper kiln dried shavings.

 

[midd2005]

i used pellet things that were made, i believe, of pine. for the first couple days i put those down with paper towels on top so that they would learn where real food and water was.

the pellets were great because when they got wet they broke down into sawdust which sifted down to the bottom of the brooder floor. no dust. no mold. no wet. once a day i would take a little hand cultivator and rake through the bedding which would move the fresh stuff to the top and then i'd throw a scoop or two of fresh stuff in on that. nice and clean. once a week or so, i changed everything out. one bag lasted me the 3.5 weeks that they spent in the brooder.

 

[Delta3013]

Quote:
Thats probably a good idea, I'll try it.