The floor should have a small thin of layer. Bedding in the brooder needs to provide an absorbent, non-slippery surface for the young chicks. Most producers use readily available pine shavings in a layer 3 to 4 inches deep. The pine oils in pine shavings have the advantage by reducing mold growth. Other options include rice hulls, ground corncobs, shredded newspaper or finely chopped straw( if it is changed often).
Hardwood shavings and peanut hulls should not be used because they can become moldy. Avoid sawdust because chicks may eat it and become impacted in their crop or gizzard. Large particle litter, like woodchips, is not useful for bedding because it is not as absorbent as smaller particle litter. Be attentive to the chicks when they are first introduced to the brooding enclosure. If a farmer sees his or her new chicks eating the bedding, he or she may choose to cover the bedding with newspaper or paper towels for the first couple of days, until they are eating their food well enough on their own. The farmer should not use slick materials to cover the bedding as these may lead to leg injuries known as splay legs.
How long should chicks stay in the brooder? Chicks should stay for between three( 3) to four( 4) weeks in the brooder when they have fully
developed feathers and no longer need artificial heat.
Heat( how does the farmer tell the variation of heat in the brooder) Theoretically, chick brooder temperature is measured with a thermometer placed 2 inches( 5 cm)
above the brooder floor( and at the outer edge of a hover), but the poultry farmer should not need a thermometer. He or she should just watch the chicks, and adjust the temperature according to their body language.
Chicks that are not warm enough- due either to insufficient heat or to draftiness-crowd near the heat source, peep shrilly, and may have sticky bottoms or outright diarrhea. In an effort to get warm while they sleep, the chicks will pile up and smother each other. Piling is most likely to occur at night when the ambient temperature drops, so in cold weather check the chicks before going to bed, and if necessary, increase the heat overnight.
Chicks that are too warm move away from the heat, spend less time eating, and as a result grow more slowly. They pant and try to get away from the heat source by crowding to the brooder’ s outer
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