Advice from personal experience on Chick bedding

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We've often used just a little straw on top of newspaper for our chick's bedding but have discovered a serious problem with this. The chicks like to eat the bits of grass that were baled with the straw. The grass is often in long pieces and the chicks cannot swallow a long piece, it sticks out their beaks. Sometimes, when this happens, another chick will peck at it and pull it out. However, if the chick does manage to swallow it, then the grass has to go through the intestinal tract. In spite of having grit available, we had a chick that did this. We didn't realize the problem at first though. The chick just seemed dull and in pain. We separated it and kept an eye on it over night. It was still alive and actually up peeping the next morning but not well. Then, I saw the chick try to defecate and the poop came out in one long string but didn't fall off. I picked up the chick and using a tissue, gently pulled on the grass encased in poop. About a 2 inch piece came out. After a couple more episodes of this, the chick is fine. We have switched from using the straw to just dirt from the garden. When they are older, the grass won't be such a danger. If they had a mother hen, she would have taken care of the problem in the begining. We give them fresh grass clippings but make sure they are short.

Any input or similar experiences?

-- Lavender Blue Dilly (lavenderbluedilly@hotmail.com), March 24, 2002

Answers

I use newspapers with plain cheapy paper towels on top of it in one layer. That is to make it rough enough for the chicks to not get spraddle legged. I just use a single thickness and change it every day as it gets yucky. I have had more success with this method than when we used other bedding that would soak up water and were harder to change daily.

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), March 24, 2002.

Oh..the paper toweling still soaks up water of course, but you can just change it if it gets yucky so much easier than changing out shavings or rice hulls, etc.... I also put a large plastic lid under the waterer to protect the bedding from getting as wet.

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), March 24, 2002.

For the first 3 days we just use newspaper. After that we use wood shavings (NEVER use cedar bedding - pine bedding is ok). It really absorbs well and we don't have to change it as often. We sprinkle the grit on it. The chicks really enjoy stratching through it also and gives them something to do and find they peck at each other much less.

For our adult birds we put down a layer of the wood shavings (our hen house for 15 birds only takes one bale of pine bedding)and then a layer (less than a full bale) of straw. This combination has been wonderful! About 3 times a week I scatter some scratch feed so they naturally turn over thier own litter by scratching away. We can go 2 months without having to add or clean the coop and the wood shavings keep things from getting compacted. It is a breeze to clean the coop. We just scoop up the most of it and can litterly sweep out the rest. Also, absolutely no ammonia build up!

-- Karen (mountains_mama2@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.


Chick Starter is already broken down. Grit isn't needed. The chick's system isn't developed enough to eat grass yet. I don't use bedding for the chicks or the older birds. My opinion! :^)

-- ~Rogo (rogo2222@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.

Grit is needed with chicks if you want to be certain to do your best to avoid pasted vent. It is so cheap even if you buy it that it is silly not to sprinkle their food with it (as if you are salting it). Many newbies wouldn't know what to look for or how to treat pasted vent and that leads to unnecessary losses.

I use pine shavings with newspapers on top for a few days. Change the paper and slowly remove it altogether. Very clean and easy to keep that way.

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), March 25, 2002.



We use pine shavings with paper towel over one part of the brooder (we start all our birds in plastic totes) where we sprinkle food. The food stands out more against the paper towel making it easier for the chicks to find. We add grit/sand after about the first week free choice.

-- Trisha-MN (coldguinea@netscape.net), March 25, 2002.

Thank you all for your input.

I know about grit, I know about pasty vent. I was trying to just warn other people new to chickens not to use straw with grass in it. I'm not a newbie when it comes to chickens. This was just a new problem.

The suggestions on alternative beddings are good ideas though I'm not too keen on using papertowels. Newpapers seems cheaper. It would be best to use something that could be dumped on the compost pile and not worried about.

-- Lav, Maryland (lavenderbluedilly@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.


Rogo, Why don't you use bedding and how do your chicken house floors look? Or maybe you don't keep your chickens in a house at night.

-- Nancy (nannyb@huntel.com), March 25, 2002.

One more thing....

We put a few handfuls of dirt from the garden/yard in with the chicks when they were about a week old and the cute little things started dusting in it. They were trying to dust in just a smidgen of dirt so we put more in and boy did the dirt fly!

-- Lav, Maryland (lavenderbluedilly@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.


Ok. How about some straw or hay for one month old chicks. Same problem? Just asking. We've got to get these chickens out of the house!

-- Gertie (hirefams@mhtc.net), March 25, 2002.


One month old is only 4 weeks. I would wait a little longer yet from what I've seen with the straw we are using at least. It was not the straw that was the problem, it was the long grass pieces in the straw. There was one chick in particular that wanted to eat the grass but he couldn't handle the length of it.

I know what you mean about wanting to get them out of the house! When you walk into the kitchen and find them starting to perch on the edge of the box it is time to get them out!

-- Lav, Maryland (lavenderbluedilly@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.


We raise chicks in a brooder box (plywood, lid with hinges, heater, temperature guage), it has the smallest of hardware cloth for a floor, we feed them on cheap-o paper plates, water them after eating with baby chick waters, and don't use bedding. Under the brooder the wasted starter and baby chick poop is scratched into the soil by hens. I know this is unbelievable but the only chick or duckling I have ever lost was a duckling who hatched early from an egg before I had moved the egg to the bottom of the incubator, he hatched out and walked into the fan :( When you keep the infants out of their poop, warm, dry and well fed, your over half way there. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (Nubians) (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.

Lavender, I realize YOU know about grit and were sharing your knowledge from experience. I was really addressing Rogo. Should have said that. Don't you love baby chicks?

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), March 25, 2002.

Anne, Yes, we love baby chicks. We have some due to hatch next tuesday. I already have them sold for 1.50 each. Providing any hatch of course!

I'm thinking of getting a good incubator with a turner and hatching more chicks for sale at the local stockyard. We have barred rocks right now and we don't often see them at the stockyard auction.

Someone said they put hardware cloth in the brooder. I like that idea. I will try making a raise harware cloth bottom for their box. It may work to cut a piece to fit and then bend down one row of squares all the way around to raise it off the bottom.

-- Lav, Central Maryland (Lavenderbluedilly@hotmail.com), March 28, 2002.


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