I have bedding then paper towel and then shelf liner for grip? Read that somewhere.
Wood shavings are best. Fill the conatiner a good 3 inches deep, patting gently.
So feed 3 times a day right? And just go until their done?
At 3 weeks old it should be a minimum of 4 feeds per day.
And not quite feed until they´re done, you need to know how much they
should be eating.
First, weigh the birds. Then use the weight to work out how much food. 10% of the birds bodyweight. For eg 30g is 3CC. 35g bird is 3.5CC food. If the bird eats that amount and is still begging for food and the crop is not full, you can give up to an extra 1CC.
Note how much you fed each bird. You can use the chart in the first link I posted above.
So in the morning you weigh the bird, feed the formula, fill in your chart. Then wait. After a few hours when the crop is almost but not quite empty, feed again. 10%. Jot it down. Carry on. Writing down times and amounts. Be sure they sleep on a full crop. You may find they can´t make it through the night yet on a full crop of food, so you will have to get up earlier than normal to feed the chicks again. This feed is different. The crop must be completely empty this time.
Even though the crop must be empty for the first morning feed of the day, it´s important that they are not hungry and with an empty crop for a long time leading up to that.
Using the info you jotted down the prev. day, you can now work out a rough schedule. You will know if it is 4 or 5 feeds and what time you need to put them to bed and wake them up.
I find this to be the most accurate way to work out a chicks schedule, as online info can sometimes be too text book, ¨eat at 8, 12, 4, 8, 12¨ does not work for all birds, and all human caregivers.