Cheesecloth in incubator ?

Colleen Kinzie · Post by **Colleen Kinzie** » Sat Apr 02, 2016 9:56 am

Hi
Has anyone used cheesecloth in the incubator for hatching?
Read that is an easy cleanup after hatch but I was wondering if the chicks would get stuck on it or their nails tangled?
Thanks

HappyHomesteader · Post by **HappyHomesteader** » Sat Apr 02, 2016 10:12 am

We have had success using paper towels in our hatcher for easy clean-up.

Colleen Kinzie · Post by **Colleen Kinzie** » Sat Apr 02, 2016 10:13 am

HappyHomesteader wrote:QR_BBPOST We have had success using paper towels in our hatcher for easy clean-up.

So no problem with chicks sticking to paper towels Lizzie?

kenya · Post by **kenya** » Sat Apr 02, 2016 10:14 am

I've always used paper towels as well but I know some people use those non slip drawer liners you can get at the dollar store.

HappyHomesteader · Post by **HappyHomesteader** » Sat Apr 02, 2016 10:51 am

Nope...and it certainly did make the clean up quicker

Ontario Chick · Post by **Ontario Chick** » Sat Apr 02, 2016 10:56 am

I use J cloth, works very well for me.

Post by **Home Grown Poultry** » Sat Apr 02, 2016 11:10 am

ya most of the time I use paper towel as it fits the drawers in my hatcher perfect but I will also use j cloth at times. i think whatever is closer. lol.

and when I set up the brooder ill put the shavings down and then put j cloth (It wont get ripped up like paper towel) on top for the first week. this does 3 things. first it prevents splayed leg. second it helps the chicks not eat the shavings well they learn what food is and where it is. I fill up the feeders as well as scatter food all over the entire bottom. third once its all dirty I roll it all up and dispose leaving a perfectly clean brooder full of shavings. after that the chicks all know there food is in the feeder.

Robbie · Post by **Robbie** » Sat Apr 02, 2016 12:43 pm

I use those puppy pee pads from the dollar store. The chicks toes never stick, it keeps the brooder very dry , they are very absorbent (if they spill water), and they are cheap. But I do feel guilty because they are garbage, there's plastic on one side so it's not recyclable. After the first few days I put bedding on top of the pee pad and that way they last much longer.
I put the pee pads under the eggs as they hatch as well, soaks up all the goo, keeps the incubator squeaky clean and the chicks dry faster.

JimW · Post by **JimW** » Sat Apr 02, 2016 5:53 pm

I second the use of the puppy pee pads, work great!

Post by **Killerbunny** » Sun Apr 03, 2016 12:16 pm

I won't use the puppy pads in a hatcher, only in a brooder. They absorb too much water. I also found that I had to change them the minute some enterprising chick pecked through it. You don't want them eating the absorbent gel stuff.