What's the best bedding for baby chicks? 

Hi Becky! After a lot of experimentation, and many batches of chicks, I now put my chicks on 1/2 hardware cloth that has a tray underneath that I line with newspaper. This way they never have to walk around in poo and it is super easy to clean. Slide tray out, roll up newspaper, put in new paper. Chicks dont have to be moved. That used newspaper goes right into the compost. As long as the chicks are not bantams, they can walk on 1/2 squares fine. Smaller chicks might need 1/4 inch square cloth. Sometimes I put an old rag or washcloth on the bottom for just the first couple of days after hatch, right under the heat lamp. It helps them snuggle and stay warm. Once they are hopping around, it comes out. Love your videos!

On our off grid homestead we are doing both meat and egglayers. Since we are always looking to SAVE money (we want to remain debt free which means Im always thinking out side the box for alternative ideas)....I started doing research for the bedding..My brodder was already unconventional since we couldnt even use a light bulb for heat! S we used a plastic coffee can filled with hot water!! I knew the ammonia from the droppings could be bad for the chicks..so we to went down the wood shaving road. Less dust..more absorbent.. When my birds got their feathers we switched to straw (not hay) which was more economical. We just chop it up and make sure we clean the coop area regularly Also..if you have the money (which I dont) they do sell actually chopped cardboard! Good inut from this as it is clean and highly absorbent! Thanks for the video!.

I agree! I use pine shavings in my coop and when I have pullets.

I built a brooder box made of used wood. The floor is 1/2" hardware cloth. Which is perfect. It allows the waste to fall through yet it's small enough the chicks step through it. One side of the box has a water tray (on the outside) another side has their food (also on outside). There is a slot that's big enough they can poke their heads through to get water or food but they can't get their bodies in the water or food tray. I have a box of kitty litter below the brooder box which catches all the waste and keeps the smell down.

I noticed you got a new stainless steel table. So cool and soo easy to keep sanitary.

The first few days of getting your chicks you should use flat newspaper, not shredded, because the chicks can't tell wood chips from food, so once they learn what food is then you can switch to wood chips :)

Thanks so much for this information, your the only one I found helpful!! My chicks and ducks are hatching soon and I needed to find this out

we use wood shavings (I think that's what it is anyway!) and it's super absorbent and it just takes a spatula and a bowl or something like that to clean it out.

Thanks Beck, Love your videos!!! Next time I order from Amazon I will go to your site first.

I’m so impressed with you building your cabin by yourself Do you have a video of that?.

thanks becky i'm really a fan of your channel, and own chickens myself and have really benefited from your videos and tips. Thanks becky!

Last time I bought chicks I got roosters - which we can't maintain in my area. Saw 2 Sussex hens for sale in the ads. Do you know if they are hardy to the weather and good layers? Appreciate your input. Decided on Barred Rocks after watching your video, but then these 2 came available.

I love offgrid idea of living it will help me a lot when growing up I plan to buy my own land by age of at least 20 I’ve always wanted to because of my grandparents, your RU-vid is so interesting, and thank you so much 💕💕

Not sure if anybody has said this yet, but I have experimented with several different beddings and sand has proved to be best. It doesn't matter what kind of sand, just buy some sand and use it. Why? 1)It's cheap. 2)It lasts a LONG time. No matter how much the chicks poop, and splash in the water, it doesn't smell, the water just gets absorbed in the sand and doesn't even really get damp. 3) It keeps your feeder and waterer clean. The wood shavings get the water FILTHY. It seems like one pinch of wood shavings in the water manage to absorb the entire container of water, but when sand gets in the waterer it just settles to the bottom. And if the chicks happen to eat a bit of the sand, Hey, its just grit. 4) It is SO easy to clean. Just get a kitty litter scoop and start scooping, it will remove the poop but leave the clean sand. However, I should mention that when using sand i would recommend putting paper towel over the sand for the first day they are in the brooder. This is because the sand happens to look VERY similar to the chick food, so you want to ensure that the chicks know that the food is in the feeders, rather than the sand.

I'm using pine pellets that wilco uses for their chicks. What do you think about that?

I love your videos and your awsome I just need help with what to make for the baby chickens

Joel Salatin says its a good ideal to keep the bedding deep for baby chicks. He shows at his farm that he keeps his like 20" thick with sawdust and wood shavings. Then mixes it every so often. And once the chicks are big enough to go out on pasture he takes the bedding and uses it in a compost pile.

Becky I have a question I've had hens fir all most a year now and one of them is broody what do we do with a broody she don't cone out of the coop she lays on eggs all day trying to hatch them if u could help I would appreciate it

I found a baby finch, it’s pretty hot down here in florida at the moment, I gave it a bit of water even though I heard it’s better to give it water through the food and I’m preparing it now. I’m In the city though ? I can’t really get wood shavings but I was wondering if I could use coloring pencil shavings and try to pick out all the crayon wax before picking the chick up. I felt regular pencils would be bad, the lead and all you know?. Would color pencils be ok ?

thanks for the info. hope to get chicks in the spring! sure miss your videos. I don;t remember ever seeing you milking or taking care of goats. I do remember you showing where you would be doing it though. would love to see move videos of your daily homesteading chores, etc. your fans miss seeing you as much as we used to!LOL by the way, I can tell you have lost a lot of weight and are looking very good! I too lost a lot of weight over the years. at one time years ago I was almost 400 lbs. just changed my eating habits and it slowly came off....and at 63 I am proud of the way I look now!! you go girl!

Good Becky helps a lot

Hi Becky can I use saw dust instead of wood chips

Thank you becky for the info i was going to use the news paper,but is rabbit bedding ok? it's absorbent and soft is it ok??

Great advise Becky, Thanks.

Hi Becky what is the best for nexting for chickens to lay eggs in

My gelding doesn't like to hold his foot up when I try to pick them out, could you please make a video on the topic, myself and my farrier would be ver thankful :)

THANK YOU SO MUCH

my chicken had baby chicks yesterday and its December which its getting pretty cold out do you have any tips

Yeah we got 50 chicks in last spring and we had wood shaving and in the next 2 weeks I'll be hatching 6 dark Cornish bantams !!!:D my first time!

Becky I have 3 chickens they are lovely soo my dad do all the work my chicken coop is always clean

I want to know how you get your internet connection in a rural setting.

I agree the wood shavings are the nicest keeps the chickens nice and clean.

is straw okay ?

thank you so much ma'am

What about a mix of all three? We have a huge natural rosemary bush as well that the chicks seem to love the rosemarey. The first day they loved our rosemarey and chose it over store bought feed. Would a combination of all three help with cost-efectiveness?

Make a tour please I would really enjoy it!!😄

I've been seeing more and more about hemp bedding for chickens being a great option. Would this be good for the baby chicks as well?

Can you please do a video on costs of owning a horse or a video of all of your animals thanks I would really love it

Lovely ideas I used have soooo many chickens But I never could sexed them Do you have any ideas how to do it I read many theories about it but have not experience of it All the best Congrats for your ideas with the bedding

Can chicks eat cooked rice Becky please say this in your next video I don't know what to feed to it please say which I get in my home only. Please...

Have you ever tried using coarse construction sand? Looking for your thoughts on that. Thanks. Great videos.

Hello # thenkyou for videos but how I purchase him this woudencheps in india

Can I use hemlock chips

Omg I love your Appaloosa what's his name!!!!????

I love that you say “Chicky babies”

What is the best material

Awesome video! I'm frugal and had this very question. Lots of grandchildren to give the chicks love so I don't want them picking up a smelly chick!

I use the wood dust

Pine shavings for ducklings safe?

Your vedios very helpful Thank youuuuuuuuuuu😘😘😘😘😘😘

i use hay

can i use soil?

is rice hulls can be good for chick bedding mam!!

What about sand? I keep hearing people use sand in the run for easy cleaning but I feel that can’t be good in the rain or snow.

hemp bedding is the best

Nice video Becky. Also newspapers/papers can have paper mites/fleas. Always use pine shavings and never cedar, it's toxic to chickens.

I love the videos I hope to get hens

I have a male and female bird can I use shredded wools chip

What about corn cob?

Can i keep the bulb in summers also???

Can these be used for parrots

I love baby chicks but I like in Portland Oregon and I don't think it's ok to have them.my parents also don't want chickens in our yard . How do I convince them to get chickens?

You could use sand or dirt

what about straw

Someone should tell those folks in Alaska that are homesteading about the HAY its all they use :( they made entire show on cleaning the chicken coop after the winter and it was a solid mess with smell and slime :( Seems like with all the woodcutting they would realize they need to save the wood chips! LOL - must be a way to spread the word! - Thanks for the video!

What about saw dust from planer of mitre saw

What about sand? PLEASE ANSWER!!! I am getting a polish chick as a pet this Saturday. ☺️☺️☺️☺️

Would a crow eat my chickens? There's a lot of crows near my house.

I have a somewhat funny story with my baby chickens I let them run around the yard and play and at the end of the day I brang them inside for the night (because I have predatory animals where I live that kill small prey) I put them in the box for the night and I woke up looked at my wall where I had my baby chickens and I had poo on my wall (note: box was 1ft high my chickens where 3in tall) how could this happen!?!

i loveeee the goats in the intro xd so cute i got a gold fidh :3

Will the wood shavings pok the chicks

How often should you change the bedding for the chicks

Is this the same for adult chickens?

Mini wood flakes works the best.

I just fold a newspaper and put it in my box not shredded and my chicks are clean they just drink and mess a bit

what do i do when my chicks literraly eat the wood chips is this safe or un safe??!!

can you use sawdust for baby chicks?

My baby chicken well she trys to burrow in the rug

my grand fathers used hay not wood chips or paper. the world did not come to an end

would that be Aspen or Pine or Cedar. I would say Aspen because of my hamsters and rats having them...but I really want to make sure :/

can i use sharpener and sharpened the pencil

Hemp

Can you use aspen shavings?

As baby chicks I just put down a layer of newspaper with shavings on top after a week the news paper will form together from the chicken piss and it comes out in one peice making it very easy to clean

Sorry Typo didn't put the "y" at the end. Thanks Becky

Is it okay for chicks to eat the wood shavings

Hello i make beds for chicks. i really like chicks so i make beds like small and big. they sleep in the beds and its so cute only one the first days for the chicks!

👍

Anyone's chicks eat the wood chips? Mine are. So, i had to take it out and now Idk what to do. 😔

animal update plaese

Any preferances pine vs. cedar or other types of shaveings/chips ?

Will they not poke or eat it, my chick s do

We use wood stove pellets a 40lb bag costs about $5 here and the chicks can't eat them.

Becky, I loved how you picked the wood chips over other bedding that's a great call for healthy chicks. You made the comment of holding baby chicks. That is a bad idea, holding baby chicks can kill them. The oil from our hand clog there little pores and we can even make them sick. If you do hold them wash hands first and down hold for more then 30 seconds.

Can i putting grass in my chiken coop

Hi BECKY YOU ROCK GIRL I HAVE A ? Can you use 90% wood chips with 10% cedar chips?

How about sawdust my darling

Hindi nahi ate ham bataa..

You are so attractive Becky go girl!!!

You should never use hay it is dusty but newspaper when it gets wet it gets skippy and the dyes can be poisonous you should use puppy parades at first then gradually introduce wood chips to the baby's ❤️🐔🇬🇧🐰😂🌚🐾