- Jan 30, 2012
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Looking for opinions and info on what everyone uses for bedding in there coops, pro's and con's - thank you in advance!
bedding question
- Thread starter Sunkhaze Farm
- Start date
Pine shavings are great. I can't think of any cons, except that if you have lots of chickens it might get expensive.
Where does one get pine shavings...better than hay?
Mo
Mo
Any farm supply store will have pine shavings. Pet stores have it too, but it's often more expensive there. I've read that chickens can hurt themselves with hay - I just can't remember how! I used hay in their covered run last winter when it got really cold and they did fine.
I have a cat litter scoop and bucket by the coop, and just scoop out most of the poop every day. When it gets bad I dump it on the compost pile. Hay is harder to clean routinely.
Forgot to say
I have a cat litter scoop and bucket by the coop, and just scoop out most of the poop every day. When it gets bad I dump it on the compost pile. Hay is harder to clean routinely.
Forgot to say
Last edited:
ty. and i'm thinking of going deep litter... thoughts?
- Jun 3, 2012
- 219
- 16
- 83
The person that built my coop told me to try a "deep bedding method". I am using pine shavings in the coop with built up sides. You keep adding a thin layer on top, and the lower levels are supposed to compost themselves. Then every 3-4 months or so you scoop everything out to the compost pile, and start over. So far their feet are clean, and they have a nice deep layer of bedding.
There is an article in BYC that says that you should add a sifting of DE Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) over your bedding. It seems some people stir the bedding periodically, and some let the chickens do it.
The builder uses a mixture of pine needles, sawdust, and leaves. He says he wont pay for bedding when he has these things available. Not sure how I feel about this.
There is an article in BYC that says that you should add a sifting of DE Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) over your bedding. It seems some people stir the bedding periodically, and some let the chickens do it.
The builder uses a mixture of pine needles, sawdust, and leaves. He says he wont pay for bedding when he has these things available. Not sure how I feel about this.
i think your builder is brilliant! why would you pay for materials when you may have suitable things laying about free. with several tall firs surrounding my home i will def. be using those to supplement my shavings. I dont understand why people would rather pay than find free or cheap recycled materials. So odd to me. those people selling wood shavings are making lots!
HI! I use the pine bedding and DE for our coop. (I luv the pine smell when I freshen up the litter!) I have no cons about this method. I use the deep method.
pine shavin are the easiest to shovel out and compost,and you can get them at any co-op or tractor supply.
Hi, I'm new to this site and new to raising chickens. I have been using pine shavings and they seem to be working great. Recently I've been saving our shredded paper from work. What are your thoughts on using just shredded paper or maybe combining the paper and pine shavings.
Thank you,
Wrigley
Thank you,
Wrigley
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