What's best for brooder liter??

[CountryGal517]

I was thinking of using the puppy pads the first couple of weeks. Has anybody had any luck with them? But after that I've no idea, I've heard many things used in the brooder but most people use pine shavings after the first two weeks or so. Is this what I should use, I read somewhere that some people use horse bedding, or corn cob bedding. Also, I have heard of people using pine pellets?? Are pellets even comfortable for the little ones?

Opinions please...... I'm soooo confused on to what I should use.

 

[chickencrazy9]

I know some people say you shouldn't use straw, but I do. I've only had my chicks for 2 days but they seem to have fun pecking and scratching at the straw.
I looked into pine shavings, but the size of it made me a little nervous ( it was really fine).
Good luck!

 

[Secretlyspotted]

I used pine shavings aka horse bedding. You can buy it in bags at places like TSC. It is big enough that the chicks don't eat it, it smells decent, and it is cheap. I put down puppy pads under my Ecoglow for the first week or so. They spent a ton of time under then Ecoglow then so it got kinda nasty and I could change the puppy pads out daily. I changed the wood shavings about once a week. Some people recommended "soft wood pellets." I have no idea what those are and I couldn't find them at our TSC.
My babies will be 5 weeks on Monday and I moved them to their grow out pen outside today. The smell was getting intense and they could fly out of their brooder! Which was a dryer box with 3 ft high walls. Just make plans now for getting them out of your house!

 

[TheChickInn]

I use layers of paper towels for the first 3-4 days. The paper towel has to be grooved though, otherwise it's too slippery for them. After I am sure they are all eating and drinking well, I then use pine shavings. I tried raising chicks on wire floor before ( people say that they don't get cocci as easily this way) but I thought it looked so uncomfortable for them to walk on. I now vaccinate everything for Cocci, so don't worry about that anymore. No matter what you decide to use, just make sure it stays dry. I like to use a thin layer of PDZ ( It's a stall refresher used for horses) all natural, no no need to worry if they accidentally ingest some of it.

 

[Farmer Viola]

I usually have plastic flooring in the brooder, pretty slippery so I first tape down shelf-liner to the flooring. Then I cover that with paper towels, changed daily. I keep the paper towel flooring for about a week, as long as I can stand it. Once the poop starts getting out of hand with the paper towel flooring, then I switch to pine shavings. I don't use the pine right away because I think it encourages them to eat it.

I have been eyeballing these natural wood pellets they have at the feed store. They are pretty large size pellets, so they chicks couldnt eat them. I might try those next time...
I wonder if they expand when wet

 

[JNorth]

We use shredded paper, think white printer paper. My husband gets it from the office where he works. They shred a bathtub full of paper each day and are happy to give it to us. I like it because it's low on dust and has no odor. Plus it composts super fast. I change it out daily since supply is not an issue. We tried hay and I couldn't take the dust and smell (we brood indoors) and I'm allergic to pine. We've had three years of happy healthy birds.

 

[sanchabird]

I love the idea of shredded printer paper! I use pine shavings when I get them as day olds and I've never had a problem. I don't think newspaper is good though as it is slick and can cause spraddle leg. Good luck!

 

[JNorth]

We attempted shredded newspaper once and it was awful. It smelled when soiled and the ink bled when wet. The chicks feet were getting inky. That was with daily changes.

 

[CountryGal517]

I use layers of paper towels for the first 3-4 days.  The paper towel has to be grooved though, otherwise it's too slippery for them.  After I am sure they are all eating and drinking well, I then use pine shavings.  I tried raising chicks on wire floor before ( people say that they don't get cocci as easily this way)  but I thought it looked so uncomfortable for them to walk on.  I now vaccinate everything for Cocci, so don't worry about that anymore.  No matter what you decide to use, just make sure it stays dry.  I like to use a thin layer of PDZ ( It's a stall refresher used for horses)  all natural, no no need to worry if they accidentally ingest some of it. 

I would have to think it'd be uncomfortable on the chicks to have wire flooring as well. I was thinking of either paper towels or puppy pads as I've heard good things about them too and I know those are super absorbent

 

[sacchick]

I was thinking of using the puppy pads the first couple of weeks. Has anybody had any luck with them? But after that I've no idea, I've heard many things used in the brooder but most people use pine shavings after the first two weeks or so. Is this what I should use, I read somewhere that some people use horse bedding, or corn cob bedding. Also, I have heard of people using pine pellets?? Are pellets even comfortable for the little ones?

Opinions please...... I'm soooo confused on to what I should use.

I used construction sand with paper towels on top for a few days. The sand is easy to clean, think cat litter box, and they love to dust bath in it. Sand also stays warm and does not get yucky when wet.