Pine shavings and towels for new chicks.

[Scotty from BI]

I am ordering new baby chicks. I have read that they should not be on shavings for a week or so, so they don't confuse the shavings for food. I was wondering if it would be safe to put the shavings under the heater plate where they sleep at night and put the food on paper towels in front of the heating plate and shavings area for the first week, then take the paper towels out. Or should I just put paper towels down over The Whole brooder surface. I am brooding 18 chicks and the brooder area for the first week will be about 4 feet x 4 feet.

 

[peterlund]

An old terrycloth towel for the first week would be perfect.... don't expect to ever use it again however. i have raised quite a few batches of fuzzy butts and never had an issue with them eating shavings that caused issues.... last 3 times i used plain old newspapers..... (gasp) with no problems.
Good luck with your new adventure

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Shavings under the plate are safe, the way the plate generates does not create any hazard.
Towels with loops in the fabric are a risk for toe entanglement.
I don't muck around with towels for the feed area and have yet to have any issues with chicks eating shavings, etc, through hundreds of chicks.

 

[Scotty from BI]

Thanks, good to know. It seems what ever question i ask, i get conflicticting views. Makes it interesting but harder to decide my course of action. My thought here is to just lay down shavings and put the food and water on a plastic tray lined with paper for a few days, then just shavings.

Now if only I could decide medicated or not.

 

[twilightgecko]

is it odd that my neighbour told me to use a bag of oats as bedding? i had never had chicks before last year and used the oats method in the brooder..

 

[Scotty from BI]

Don't think I will lay down oats. To hard to digest and not enough nutrition

 

[twilightgecko]

i dont think they actually ate the oats, but it was a sort of bedding that just in case they did.. luckily i never had any problems with my chicks..

 

[peterlund]

Now if only I could decide medicated or not.

Why oh why would you medicate??

 

[Scotty from BI]

Why oh why would you medicate??

Great question. Glad you asked. I don't want my babies to get sick with coccidiosis. I have been reading many, many, many, too many threads on Med vs un-Med. So many opinions and so many variables. This subject does interest me however, so I will tell you my thoughts. I have had two prior flocks of about 8 adult hens each in my coop and enclosed run over about 5 years. There are no adult chicks present so it will just be the new chicks. I am retired and my chicks keep me active. I would go out three times a day with a dog poop picker upper and scoop chicken poop every day. They perched at night over a pdz tray which I cleaned daily and I cleaned the shavings as best I could every day in the coop below the tray. I know that despite that, there will still be a good chance of cocci being present especially outside and even may have been brought in by the chicks. You can never clean everything. I am not phobic or paranoid. I would frequently pluck a stray poop bare handed for example.

Here's where I have a conflict. I would much rather feed organic non-med food, just because I think it is healthier. Mammals need thiamine for brain and growth development and that is restricted by the Amprolium in the medicated food. But it is much better and easier and safer to prevent a parasite that is supposedly everywhere than to diagnose and treat for a full blown incidence of it.

You can not go back once you decide so I don't want to make the wrong choice.

 

[chickens really]

For Chicks not being raised by Momma I use sand in my Brooder...I also feed medicated Chick starter....