>I've heard some problems regarding wood shavings, but the problems
>I've heard with shavings sound like *tall stories* and wild stroke
>of bad luck.
I have a friend who raises cockatoos. She used to use pine shavings
under paper towels in her brooders. One 'too baby ATE the shavings, and
had to have his crop surgically cleaned out to remove the impacted wood
shavings.
>Don't think I can swallow these stories.  Afterall, what would the
>babies be sitting in--out in the wild.
Rotten, moldy chewed up wood and plant bits mixed with feathers, bugs,
moss, lichens and grasses...
>I have also heard about using rolled oats as bedding for the babies.
>The idea of rolled oats is that if the babies eat it, it wont hurt
>them. Many solutions to one problem. Decisions, decisions decisions....
I've heard of that too. I heard that like corncob litter in cages, it
can grow mold VERY fast if not changed often. But it works well if you
change it with every feeding (or more often). But it IS expensive. A
local breeder here uses unseasoned air-popped popcorn in the brooders
for his big macaw and cockatoo babies--it's cheap, edible and makes the
babies smell GREAT! I haven't tried it, because my babies are all so
small they'd get lost in the popcorn!
--Kathy
 * SLMR 2.1a * 
--- Silver Xpress Mail System       
---------------