That Quail Place Forum
Raising Gamebirds => Brooding and Raising => Topic started by: mountainman on July 02, 2007, 06:09:42 PM
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What type bedding is best to use for bobwhites. We've been using disposable "wee-wee" pads but they have to be changed too often. How about shavings or straw?
Ed (mountainman)
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Pine shavings, do not use cedar as it will kill the birds or cause respiratory problems.
Dusty
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Straw is fine, make sure it is chopped some when they are just put into the brooder so they can move around. If the straw is to big the chicks wont be able to move around freely. We try and stay away from the shavings for the quail but will use shavings for pheasants.
Adam
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I use a mixture of shavings plus finely shredded paper- (newspaper is best: A4 typing paper is hard and not very absorbent. And it's cheaper:-)
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I use newspaper to line my pans under my grow out pens and stacked brooders from GQF also. Works great, the waste does not stick to the pans making cleanup easier. To dispose of the old newspaper and shavings stick in a compost pile or a burn barrel.
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Dear Ed, I have also tried doggie wee wee pads for my quail brooder...from what I have read, any kind of shavings or straw can only be used when the chicks are 3 or more weeks older. newborn baby chicks wont be able to find food in chips. Cheap paper towels does the trick, just gotta change it once or twice a day....get used to it, game fowl are totally dirty and stinky! Good luck, Suzy
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I use newspaper to line my pans under my grow out pens and stacked brooders from GQF also. Works great, the waste does not stick to the pans making cleanup easier. To dispose of the old newspaper and shavings stick in a compost pile or a burn barrel.
Been using the empty feed bags under the brooders. Works great! Just need to cut them down a little bit to fit, but it is better than throwing away all the bags and helps with cleaning the trays. Then just throw them in the compost bins.
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Back when I used to use incubators ( :laugh:) , this is what I used :
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/DerrickJB/rubbershelflinner.jpg)
It's a rubber shelf liner. You can cut several to size & put a fresh one in as often as you want. Clean the dirty ones to re-use.
When choosing bedding, you should always think: if they eat it, is it good for them ? Wood chips are not.
Straw provides no real nutrient value. A good quality alfalfa hay does. But check with your local ag. dept. to see if you have a problem with blister beatles in your area.
And always provide a small type of grit if you have anything in with them that they may eat.
Another thing I always provide for the chicks is a sand bath. They love it & it is good for them !
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we brood around 300 new quail each week.at first we used shavings you can buy at walmart.then we switched to hay.we put day old chicks on hay with no problems at all.if you need to place a green paper plate or paper towels on one spot and place the food on it so they can find it.but we have had no problems with the hay.it helps hide their feet so picking of the feet occur and they spend alot of time pecking the hay instead of each other.just thought i would share what works best for us.
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Back when I used to use incubators ( :laugh:) , this is what I used :
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/DerrickJB/rubbershelflinner.jpg)
It's a rubber shelf liner. You can cut several to size & put a fresh one in as often as you want. Clean the dirty ones to re-use.
When choosing bedding, you should always think: if they eat it, is it good for them ? Wood chips are not.
Straw provides no real nutrient value. A good quality alfalfa hay does. But check with your local ag. dept. to see if you have a problem with blister beatles in your area.
And always provide a small type of grit if you have anything in with them that they may eat.
Another thing I always provide for the chicks is a sand bath. They love it & it is good for them !
I use the rubber liner too in my hatchers and in the brooders for the first couple of days. I happened to find a very very large roll of it at Costco. Pretty cheep too. They had it in the automotive area, I guess for the trays of tool boxes. The holes in it are a little larger, but does not seem to bother the chicks. In fact I think it is better for air flow. It's a little easier to wash also. You can also throw it into the washer.
After removing it, I place the feed bags on the drop trays. Works great. :laugh: