What substrate is safe for keets besides straw/hay?

[SplendidDogFeet]

This is embarrassing, but I'm pretty allergic to straw and hay and my keets are about two weeks old and need a different substrate on the floor. The coop and run aren't finished, so I can't move them outside yet. They're in a pen in the house that's just over 5'x5'. I've been using incontinence bed pads and paper towels and I'm cleaning multiple times a day, but their feet are filthy and I have to switch to something else. I don't mean dirty- I mean poop compounding to the point of walking difficulties and I have to clean them. Their warming plate is over sand in a box I built, but that's not feasible for the whole pen. Could someone please tell me what will keep these babies' feet clean that won't kill them besides mesh flooring or straw and hay? I just want them to be happy and healthy. And as clean-footed as possible.

 

[R2elk]

This is embarrassing, but I'm pretty allergic to straw and hay and my keets are about two weeks old and need a different substrate on the floor. The coop and run aren't finished, so I can't move them outside yet. They're in a pen in the house that's just over 5'x5'. I've been using incontinence bed pads and paper towels and I'm cleaning multiple times a day, but their feet are filthy and I have to switch to something else. I don't mean dirty- I mean poop compounding to the point of walking difficulties and I have to clean them. Their warming plate is over sand in a box I built, but that's not feasible for the whole pen. Could someone please tell me what will keep these babies' feet clean that won't kill them besides mesh flooring or straw and hay? I just want them to be happy and healthy. And as clean-footed as possible.

Guineas even as adults do not do a good job keeping their feet clean.

What works the best is to get them on the ground with more room than you think they need.

The sooner they start roosting, the sooner they will have cleaner feet. You can do like many people and put "poop boards" under their roosts.

 

[SplendidDogFeet]

Guineas even as adults do not do a good job keeping their feet clean.

What works the best is to get them on the ground with more room than you think they need.

The sooner they start roosting, the sooner they will have cleaner feet. You can do like many people and put "poop boards" under their roosts.

I will use poop boards under their roosts in the coop for when they are out there. They are still sleeping under their brooder plate at this point.

 

[TrishRom]

What are poop bars?

 

[R2elk]

What are poop bars?

Poop boards are flat boards set under the roost bars to make cleaning the droppings easier. It's something I don't do but many do since it seems that poultry's favorite place to poop is when they are on their roosts.

 

[TrishRom]

Ahh that makes some sense but my roosting bars are small and they still poop all over them . If it makes it on the 1-2” bars I’m not sure how much would land on a poop bar! They are removable so I just take them out and clean them. Seems like you would have to do the same for the poop boards too then . I would be cleaning 2 x!

 

[Gill-b]

Ahh that makes some sense but my roosting bars are small and they still poop all over them . If it makes it on the 1-2” bars I’m not sure how much would land on a poop bar! They are removable so I just take them out and clean them. Seems like you would have to do the same for the poop boards too then . I would be cleaning 2 x!

I also asked myself the question of "what are poop boards?" when I first joined this forum. When I looked it up, I found the answer in the coop building section. From what I understand (and I need to be checked on this) is that the poop board is at an angle, with the bottom edge placed over a line of sand. When excreted, most of the poop then rolls down the poop board into the sand. This makes it easy to clean away the balk of the poop, which should be in a thin line on the sand, on a daily basis.

 

[Gill-b]

https://goodshomedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/poop-board-1.jpg

 

[Gill-b]

I like this idea - it is called a poop hammock...

https://b1938302.smushcdn.com/19383...21/09/poop-hammock.jpg?lossy=0&strip=1&webp=1