Chook Me!

is sand ok to put at the bottom of my chicken brooder?

well its not really a brooder its a big huge blue plastic container and i am putting approx. 25 in there just until there about three weeks old then the rest is figured out but i need to know if sand can harm my chickadees they are coming from ideal poultry.com and hey will be very young so i need to know oh and yes they will be heated i have a big coop already i have one hen and the rest where eaten by a raccoon that lives near by but that problem was taken care of with a shot gun lol but i do have a larger coop that when they are old enought they will go into its about 10 foot tall and about 20 foot long and 8 10 foot wide we have a big yard for the chickens

Public Comments

1. dont use sand
2. Ask on chicken chat or backyardchickens forum they will help you loads x
3. No sand as they will ingest too much. I use news paper until they learn to eat then leave them on the wire grid floor. They should be on a wire grid floor so the poop falls through and away from their feet. The grid can be up on 3/4 inch wood blocks on the news paper covered floor.
4. I have started chicks inside in the big blue rubbermaid containers. I use pine shavings. Like a previous answer said, I leave it covered with newspaper for the first day so that they can find their food. They will eat too much sand if you use it for litter. When I've started them in the plastic tub, I could only fit about 5 of them for 2 weeks. When I get 25 or so I make up about a 4 foot by 4 foot box with sides at least a couple of feet high. They will outgrow this in about 2 weeks and then I move them out to the coop. Before you ever order them make sure you have their permanent home ready! They grow VERY quickly!