Brooder Bedding??

[Trudi]

What can I put down on the bottom of a rubbermaid tub for chicks just coming out of the incubator? Can I use alfalfa hay in there?

 

[Judy]

Really, most anything.

Lots of folks like to use something like paper towels, rags or puppy pads for a couple of days, til they learn the difference between food and litter, so they don't eat so much litter. But most anything will work. Sheets of newspaper is the only problem material that I know of, as it gets slippery and may lead to splay leg or similar leg problems.

 

[Trudi]

I have some puppy pads. Didn't know I could use those. Thanks!

 

[karlamaria]

I used newspaper with paper towels on top of it for a few days ,then shavings on top, then started using puppy pads for the next several weeks with shavings on top. Put brick in my brooder to keep the food out of the shavings and as they got bigger I raised the dishes. Used water nipple bucket which saved me tons of work with poopy water all day. Saved lots of work daily just keeping food and water clean!

 

[OkChickens]

Pine Shavings. I don't like newspaper because it is very slick for the chicks that cause feet/leg problems. It also gets very messy quick. Shavings last quite a while and they dry up the poop very fast.

Nate

 

[featheredroots]

Last year I used Swheat Scoop wheat cat litter. I scooped the brooder a couple of times a day and changed it out once a week, it worked great. Since the chicks we got last year were already two weeks old, we didn't have trouble with them eating it, but our new babies will be just a couple of days old, so I'm definitely going to start out with the puppy pads.

 

[beefmaster]

after they get 2 or 3 days old you can use the shavings.before i quit raising chicks i was just putting them right on the shavings.

 

[Snozzle]

I have been using cabinet liner with paper towels on top. Makes is softer, less cold and more slip proof then paper towels alone, I change the paper towels every day and the liner every few days. I had my silkie chicks on aspen shavings with a bit hay on top, which worked ok, but when they were really little they had problems with the uneven texture.

 

[BeccaSmith]

We use wood pellets, like the kind you can buy for wood pellet burning wood stoves, sometimes they are sold as bedding for horses and other animals as well. They work great, just make sure you don't have the heat lamp to close as the wood pellets eat up and hold the heat and can burn their feet. We don't have any problems with this but when we first started out we noticed they were getting hot and moved the lamp up and are still able to maintain proper temps for them!

 

[chickenhead1]

We used newspaper on top of wood shavings that we changed out twice daily. After a week, we had them on shavings only. No problems.