What to put in bottom of brooder pen

[A.T. Hagan]

I have never had a chick with splayed legs and have used exclusively pine shavings for the last ten years. Many hundreds of birds. They work better than anything else I've ever found except for possibly ground corn cobs. But they're expensive and hard to find here.

 

[lotzahenz]

I use SHOP (blue) paper towels for the first few days to a week. They are heavy and absorbent, then I use the really fluffy pine shavings after that. Hay works fine too, but I find it hard to clean up. They get splayed legs from slippery surfaces such as newspapers! Hay is not slippery nor is shavings. wet and smelly but never slippery. The puppy pads sound good, but are expensive. You have to change them pretty often, depending on how many chicks you have. NO to the CEDAR shavings because of the oil found in them is irritating to chick respiratory systems.

 

[debid]

I have mine on chopped straw and so far I like it! The chicks seem happy to scratch and dustbathe and their feet are staying pretty clean. It's just regular old wheat straw run through a wood chipper -- cheap, effective, and I hear it composts nicely.

There are lots of options and they all have their pros and cons, fans and detractors. When someone comes up with THE PERFECT THING, they'll be rich!

 

[naakte]

i like false bottoms no poo on their feet to clean

 

[Nicole01]

I'm really happy with the pine shavings. I've been using them since day one.

 

[ninabeast]

Just to confuse things...I switched to sand on day 7. The pine was too poopy for me, and the pine fumes were bothering my lungs. I really like the sand, although it is dusty when you clean it. The chix have cleaner feet then they did, and they love scratching in it. I heard some horror stories about sand, and some strong testimonials. I listened to my gut and plunged.

Now I need to decide if I'm going sand or shavings in the new coop. It would be a no-brainer for sand if I lived in a warm climate, but I don't.

Good luck!

 

[ninabeast]

Just to confuse things...I switched to sand on day 7. The pine was too poopy for me, and the pine fumes were bothering my lungs. I really like the sand, although it is dusty when you clean it. The chix have cleaner feet then they did, and they love scratching in it. I heard some horror stories about sand, and some strong testimonials. I listened to my gut and plunged.

Now I need to decide if I'm going sand or shavings in the new coop. It would be a no-brainer for sand if I lived in a warm climate, but I don't.

Good luck!

 

[countrychick14]

We have ALWAYS used pine shavings. For 12 years. If they are heavy breeds, or meat chickens the paper towels are only used for 1 day. Lighter breed chicks, we use paper towels for 3 days. We only use the paper towels so the chicks won't eat them instead of their food. Good Luck!

 

[chicmom]

Quote:
Respectfullyl disagree. Newspaper is very slippery to a chick and will cause splayed legs. I have no problem with hay, but you do have to change it when it gets dirty, as any bedding.

Pine shavings are the best, in my opinion. I've never lost a chick that I raise on pine shavings, plus it helps with the poo odor. You just have to make sure you put a generous amount of pine shavings in your brooder, so it covers the brooder's bare floor.

I do, for the first few days, put some paper towel down, on top of the shavings and scatter some chick food onto it. It helps chicks learn how to scratch around, and they enjoy it.

 

[ninabeast]

Just to confuse things...I switched to sand on day 7. The pine was too poopy for me, and the pine fumes were bothering my lungs. I really like the sand, although it is dusty when you clean it. The chix have cleaner feet then they did, and they love scratching in it. I heard some horror stories about sand, and some strong testimonials. I listened to my gut and plunged.

Now I need to decide if I'm going sand or shavings in the new coop. It would be a no-brainer for sand if I lived in a warm climate, but I don't.

Good luck!