Newspaper bedding for your chick brooder: Not your best choice

It’s well known among chicken keepers that you don’t want to put your morning newspaper onto your brooder floor for chick bedding.

The surface of a newspaper is too smooth for chicks to safely move around on it. Your chicks can actually get the injury known as ‘splayed leg’ from slipping on newspaper—an injury that results in death if not treated.¹

But what about using shredded newspaper as brooder bedding—is that safe for chicks?

Newspaper, including shredded newspaper, is not a good bedding choice for brooding chicks because it contains toxins—such as naphthylamine, amoratic hydrocarbons, and toluene—that may harm your birds.

Here, you’ll learn the pros of using shredded newspaper for brooder bedding, as well as the risks associated with it, so you can make up your own mind. You’ll also learn which bedding types are the safest to use in your brooder.

---

This post contains affiliate links for my favorite products from Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

---

Pros of shredded newspaper bedding in the brooder

Why would you even want to use shredded newspaper in your brooder in the first place?

Well, shredded newspaper does have some up sides. In fact, it’s been used successfully for animal bedding in many commercial industries.^2-5

Shredded newspaper has these pros:

• Inexpensive

• Readily available

• Absorbent

• Low in dust

• Compostable^6-7

• Less palatable than sawdust bedding—but studies do show your chicks will still eat some of their newspaper bedding, regardless.^4-5

Perhaps the biggest pro of using shredded newspaper for bedding is simply its convenience—if you’re one of the many Americans who buys a daily or weekly paper.

Cons of shredded newspaper bedding in the brooder

Unfortunately, you’ll also find some pretty hefty downsides to using shredded newspaper as brooder bedding.

Shredded newspaper has the following cons:

• Possibly slick. Depending on the size of the shredded particles and the type of paper, slickness may still be a problem. Splayed leg in chicks has been reported for chicks brooded even on shredded newspaper bedding.

• Ultra-flammable.³ I definitely wouldn’t want to use a heat lamp with newspaper bedding. If you do decide to use newspaper in your brooder, go for a heated brooder plate instead of a heat lamp.

• High in moisture retention. Although newspaper absorbs moisture well, it doesn’t release moisture well. This means your shredded newspaper bedding can get matted, moldy, and stinky.^4,9-10 However, if you change the bedding frequently (before it can mold, mat, or smell), this doesn’t have to be a problem for you.

• High in ammonia. Paper bedding in general has higher ammonia emissions than wood shavings or straw.¹¹ This is worrisome because ammonia can cause a number of serious health problems (or even death) in your chicks.^12-14 But again, if you change your brooder bedding frequently, you can avoid these problems.

• Ink may rub off on your chicks.⁸ Some shredded newspapers use inks that’ll rub off onto your chicks, covering their down in a black, inky residue. Although most newspaper print is made from soy-based inks, a small percentage of papers still use petroleum-laden inks, or even inks that contain heavy metals or other contaminants dangerous to humans,¹⁵ and certainly very unhealthy for your fragile chicks.

• Colored pages may use heavy-metal-based inks.^2,6 This is a bigger risk if you’re using shredded glossy magazine pages, but it can be a problem with newspapers too. Just don’t use any of the colored insets that come with your paper.

• Toxic. Exposure to newspaper ink just isn’t a good thing in general, and eating it is even worse—more on this below.

Why is newspaper bedding toxic for chicks?

“Researchers report that newspaper ink contains ingredients such as Naphthylamine, amoratic hydrocarbons, and other aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists that have multiple negative health effects.”

— Richard Zhou and colleagues, Environmental Health Division, Canada

One of the biggest risks associated with these toxic chemicals is cancer,¹⁶ but will your chicks actually have enough exposure for that? I really don’t know.

But keep in mind that cancer can be slow-growing, so if your chickens end up dying from it down the road, you may not know it was the newspaper bedding that initiated it, and if you don’t necropsy your chickens, you may never even know they died of cancer

But even aside from cancer, there are additional risks from these chemicals, the worst one being toxicity related to the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) pathway.^16-17 Now, the science behind AhR-related toxicity is exceedingly complicated. I don’t fully understand it myself (and I spent a good deal of time trying).

You can learn more about it on your own here.

Or, if you just want to see the research summarized, check out this excellent article. Here, researchers from the Environmental Health Division in Ontario, Canada, concluded that ingestion of newspaper inks may lead to “potential negative health effects for vulnerable populations with compromised organ functions, such as those with compromised immune systems, as well as seniors and the very young.”

And that means your chicks too! Your chicks truly are tiny, vulnerable little babies. They may be especially susceptible to ink toxicity because they actually will eat some of their bedding. I know it sounds strange, but this is true no matter what type of bedding you use.^4-5

This means if you use shredded newspaper for bedding, your chicks will be ingesting some toxic chemicals from the ink. There’s no way around that.

And if that’s not enough for you, let’s look at one more potentially worrisome chemical: Tuolene.

A couple recent studies have suggested that newspapers and magazines may be emitting toluene at levels that are unsafe for humans.^18-19

What exactly does this chemical do?

At high levels, toluene is a strong irritant, affecting eyes, noses, throats, and skin. Toluene can cause headaches, dizziness, mental impairment, numbness, sleep disturbances, and it can damage female reproductive systems in humans.²⁰

One academic study modeled the toluene levels potentially released from printed matter, like magazines, and concluded:¹⁹

“Toluene concentrations can be close or even surpass the occupational legal thresholds in printing facilities in realistic worst-case scenarios. The concentrations in homes can surpass the US EPA reference dose (69 μg/kg/day) in worst-case scenarios, but are still at least 1 order of magnitude lower than in press rooms or newsstands.”

— Tobias Walser and colleagues, Institute of Environmental Engineering

The researchers did say “at worst-case scenarios.” Would your chicks be brooded at the worst-case scenarios?

Well, imagine your chicks in their brooder filled with shredded newspaper. They’re walking on it, sleeping on it, dustbathing in it, and, as we learned above, ingesting it. That just can’t be good for them.

One other thing about toluene, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says that if toluene is ingested, it can cause liver and kidney damage as well.²⁰

Now, I have no idea if your shredded newspapers or magazines have toluene levels high enough to cause any sort of organ damage in your chicks. The research out there is scarce. But we do know chicks eat their bedding. I sure wouldn’t risk it with mine.

Are your chicks guaranteed to get sick if they’re brooded on shredded newspaper?

Your chicks may be just fine if they’re brooded on shredded newspaper. People have been using newspaper in brooders for as long as newspapers have been around.

The information I’ve presented here simply shows that there are risks involved in brooding your chicks on newspaper bedding. And because there are much safer alternatives, why take these risks?

What type of brooder bedding is safe for chicks?

Unfortunately, there is no perfect bedding. Every type of brooder bedding comes with some risks.

That being said, the safest types available are any of the following:

• Medium- to coarse-grained sand

• Chopped straw

• Hemp

You should be able to find at least one of these bedding types at your farm supply store, with the exception of the medium- to coarse-grained sand. You’ll likely need to get that from your local gravel company.

And if you have your heart set on paper bedding, go for natural shredded paper or unbleached white shredded paper. Both of these bedding types are ink-free and much safer than newspaper.

And remember, no matter what type of bedding you use, be sure to cover it with paper towels, potty pads, or rubber shelf liner for at least the first few days your chicks are in the brooder (I leave mine in for 5-7 days).

Newly-hatched chicks don’t know what’s food and what isn’t—they have to be taught. So, you want to make sure the only thing they’re capable of ingesting their first few days of life is actual food, not bedding.

Pin this article for later!

Sources

1. Damerow, Gail. Hatching and brooding your own chicks. North Adams: Storey Publishing, 2013.

2. Gunderson, S., Wise, G., Roach, J., and Muench, D. “Used chopped newspaper for animal bedding.” University of Wisconsin Extension.

3. Ward, P., Wohlt, J., Zajac, P., and Cooper, K., “Chemical and physical properties of processed newspaper compared to wheat straw and wood shavings as animal bedding.” Journal of Dairy Science, v. 83, no. 2, 2000, p. 359-367.

4. Grimes, J., Smith, J., and Williams, C., “Some alternative litter materials used for growing broilers and turkeys.” World’s Poultry Science Journal, v. 58, no. 4, 2002, p. 515-526.

5. Malone, G., Chaloupka, G., and Saylor, W., “Influence of Litter Type and Size on Broiler Performance.: 1. Factors Affecting Litter Consumption.” Poultry Science, v. 62, no. 9, 1983, p. 1741-1746.

6. Trautmann, N. and Richard, T. “Frequently asked questions.” Cornell Composting.

7. Sackett, S. “Is newspaper safe for your garden?” Permaculture Research Institute.

8. Backyard Chickens. “How does shredded newspaper work for baby chick litter?”

9. Malone, G., Allen, P., Chaloupka, G., and Ritter, W., “Recycled paper products as broiler litter.” Poultry Science, v. 61, no. 11, 1982, p. 2161-2165.

10. Tanner, M., Swinker, A., Beard, M., Cosma, G., Traub-Dargatz, J., Martinez, A., and Olenchock, S., “Effect of phone book paper versus sawdust and straw bedding on the presence of airborne gram-negative bacteria, fungi and endotoxin in horse stalls.” Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, v. 18, no. 7, 1998, p. 457-461.

11. Tasistro, A., Cabrera, M., Ritz, C., and Kissel, D., “Manipulating bedding materials and PLTTM to reduce NH3 emissions from broiler manure.” Bioresource Technology, v. 99, 2008, p. 1952-1960.

12. Ritz, C., Fairchild, B., and Lacy, M., “Litter quality and broiler performance.” Cooperative Extension Service, The University of Georgia, Bulletin 1267, 2005, p. 1-5.

13. Tasistro, A., Ritz, C., and Kissel, D., “Ammonia emissions from broiler litter: response to bedding materials and acidifiers.” British Poultry Science, v. 48, no. 4, 2007, p. 399-405.

14. Aziz, T. and Barnes, J., “Harmful effects of ammonia on birds.” Poultry World, 25 October 2010.

15. Morgan, Sam. “How to Test the Ink in Newspapers to See if It Is Toxic.” Sciencing.

16. Zhou, R., Stanley, R., and Le, M., “Contamination of food with newspaper ink: An evidence-informed decision making (EIDM) case study of homemade dessert.” Environmental Health Review, v. 55, no. 2, 2012, p. 63-69.

17. Bohonowych, J., Zhao, B., Timme-Laragy, A., Jung, D., Di Giulio, R., and Denison, M. “Newspapers and newspaper ink contain agonists for the ah receptor.” Toxicological Sciences, v. 102, no. 2., 2008, p. 278-290.

18. Caselli, M., de Gennaro, G., Saracino, M., and Tutino, M. “Indoor contaminants from newspapers: VOCs emissions in newspaper stands.” Environmental Research, v. 109, no. 2, 2009, p. 149-157.

19. Walser, T., Juraske, R., Demou, E., and Hellweg, S., “Indoor exposure to toluene from printed matter matters: Complementary views from Life Cycle Assessment and Risk Assessment.” Environmental Science and Technology, v. 48, no. 1., 2014, p. 689-697

20. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. “Toluene.”