What to do with this litter?

[HELPPLS]

I have my chicks in a big plastic swimming pool, inside the house. I have a lot of pine shavings and a little PDZ and DE mixed in. I am confused on what to do with this. I was told to just stir the poop up and add some new pine shavings in occasionally. That just doesn't seem right to just stir the poop in. It is such little bits of poo because they are still so little but am I suppose to skim the top layer of shavings off and throw it away or what? The dust is killing my head in here from the shavings but the shed we were going to keep them in is leaking so now they are stuck inside. Plus I love being able to play with them and watch them. I couldn't do that if they were outside. Any advice would be helpful. We have 10 total and we just got them a week ago. They are growing so very fast. I also don't know if its normal but some of them have loose stools and others are more solid. I do give them some chick grit and grass and meal worms. They don't have any interest in boiled eggs at all. They have also had a couple of worms out of the yard. Not all of this at one time though.

 

[Folly's place]

Chicks in the house; DUSTY and THEY SMELL. Truth! Mine are in a big dog crate, and will be out in the chicken coop very soon! I use shavings over newspaper. You could use hospital bed pads, but That's not fun either. No DE, it's BAD to inhale. Can you move the brooder to your garage, or that shed you mentioned? Mary

 

[debid]

I outdoor brood. I have a small coop with run just for the youngsters. If you can block the wind and give a heat lamp so they can go warm themselves, they thrive even with ambient temps dropping well below freezing. It hit 19 at night the first week I was using the new juvenile facility for tiny chicks. They were under the light more often when it was colder but still not all the time. Really. Contrary to popular belief, you don't ever HAVE to house chicks in your home. And, once partially feathered, they were out in their run a lot more than I would have guessed. They still had their lamp until fully feathered but I didn't need to do anything more than heat one corner with a 100W or 175W bulb (used the hotter one for sub-freezing temps but it was too much at 40 degrees with the sun out).

 

[backintime]

I live wayyyyy up north in northern Wisconsin and keep my chicks in a refrigerator box (turned sideways, with no top - entails quite a bit of cutting and duct taping to re-design the box for use on one side!) in an unheated garage as early as April or May, when nights can get down to 30 or 40F.

I hang a heat lamp in the center of the box, and drape blankets over the two sides -- well away from the heat lamp -- and it stays quite toasty in there! I also put a few small holes in each side of the box to allow more air exchange. The high sides of the box eliminate drafts, keep the chicks in, and the blankets can be moved aside in the daytime when the garage heats up. I use clothespins to clip the blankets to the box, so they don't accidentally get moved towards the heat lamp or fall into the box.

If you MUST keep them indoors, what if you put them in a refrigerator box (which would prevent them from flying out) and then threw mosquito netting over the top, except for near the light? It might keep most of the dust and shavings in, but would still allow plenty of airflow. You could take the netting outside and shake it daily to get rid of accumulated dust.

You can cut a drop-down door in the side of the box so you can access the chicks whenever you want - and when you're not around, the "door" can be stuck back into its closed position and clipped with clothespins or tape.

I like a big fridge box, because if you hang a heat lamp in the center, or even to one side, it gives them plenty of room to move away from the light if it gets too warm.

I line my fridge box with an old shower curtain or plastic first, to keep the bottom from getting damp and falling apart. Then I put down a THICK layer of shavings - at least 4 inches. I use a kitty litter scoop to pick up poops that accumulate on top, and stir the shavings once daily to break up wet clumps and keep the bedding more fluffy and dry.

I have also used pine needles as bedding for broilers after 2 weeks of age, and it worked GREAT - better than shavings, as it didn't seem to absorb so much moisture and if raked/turned daily, stayed quite dry. And best of all, it was 100% FREE, so I didn't feel guilty changing it often! I put a thick layer of pine needles in my layers' outdoor run, too -- it gives them something to scratch around in and provides good drainage when it rains. A thick 8-inch layer packs down to around 3 inches after the hens romp around on it a few days, but it's still quite airy with spaces between the needles, and much nicer for me to walk on than "poo-muck." Seems easier to rake out the run when the poop is mixed into something.

As you can see, a big part of chicken ownership is poo management. You'll get used to it, and you'll find a system, and it won't seem so overwhelming.

Good luck!

 

[Percheron chick]

I would dump it and start again. Just go with no more than 1" of shavings. The PDZ and DE are what's making things dusty. DE isn't good to be breathing either. I just scoop out the poopy an wet spots every few days and add fresh shavings when it gets a little thin.

 

[HELPPLS]

Thanks. I had just pine shavings in the smaller pool I started them in and no DE or PDZ and dust was still all over everything. I can certainly see where they may make it worse though. I think I will have to do that. I just put them in this pool and put all new litter 3 days ago. I dreaded starting over. I thought the PDZ would keep them from smelling the house up. Thank you very much.

 

[WalnutHill]

I have been using TSC's bagged Equine Bedding pellets to house my newborns. Right now I have 25 few day old broilers riding out a chilly spell in the guest bath next to my office. The pellet bedding is not dusty, is not something they even want to eat, and they can still roll and scratch in it. Since it is pure pine, it also is absorbent and helps suppress odors.

But I still haven't met any bedding that can kill the smell of 25 Cornish X for long.

 

[HELPPLS]

Is it safe for them to eat?

 

[subhanalah]

Is it safe for them to eat?

just as safe as pine shavings. Offer chick grit if you are worried about them ingesting a little.

 

[sunflour]

just as safe as pine shavings. Offer chick grit if you are worried about them ingesting a little.

? how much shavings do you think they can eat and be ok?

Mine are been on sand since 2 weeks old, now one year. Continued sand in run and coop and tried pine shavings in the nest boxes, but they ate it. I mean they ate it like it was quite a treat. I have camera in coop and they looked like it was a pine shaving feast. Made me so nervous, I removed it from the nests and changed to sand. But I really wanted a softer sit for egg laying. Tried shredded newspaper and they ate it too. I would like to try the shavings again.