experiment with bedding

[coolcanoechic]

This may sound silly, but I thought I would give this stuff a try. I typically use chopped straw mulch in the coop and run and the results have been pretty darn good with little dust and minimal cleaning as I only have to turn it over once every couple of days with a small rake. It lasts for a long time and there is no smell, except that of hay. It stays really dry no matter how long between cleanings. The price is comparable to using wood chips. I pile it in deep.
As I was looking up more products from Lucern Farms in Maine, I discovered this. http://www.lucernefarms.com/feeds_GOLD.shtml
Yes, it is for horses. The interesting thing about this stuff is that it is chopped hay with soybean oil in it making it almost dust free. The price is the same as the chopped straw mulch I have been using.
I just cleaned out the coop and put a bag of this stuff in there. It does not seem oily at all. It looks just like the chopped mulch I've been using. The girls just discovered it and are out there scratching up a storm. They really like it. Now, after all this scratching, I will get a good idea of how dust free it is. The other thing I noticed is that it is heat treated, eliminating mold spores.
I'll post results when time goes by enough to tell if it has made any signifigant difference.

This is the stuff I usually use. I love it.

 

[coolcanoechic]

Ok, Day three. I just went out there and turned the bedding over a bunch of times trying to raise some dust. No dust at all. This is a 4 x 5 coop with 5 chickens. So far so good!

 

[coolcanoechic]

Ok, It has been over a month on the same bag of bedding. It still smells like hay...not poopy smelling at all. Still just a light amount of dust in there.
Here are the pics of what it looks like. Like I said, I go in there every couple of days or so with one of those kiddy sized rakes and just turn it over and smooth it out.
After a month of this, I am convinced it is worth the price for a bag of this in my coop. It is the easiest thing I have come across in my chicken adventures when it comes to keeping things dry and smelling good. I'm sure my girls are appreciating it as much as I am.
I expect a lot more time out of this bag.
Shall I keep posting as time goes by?

 

[coolcanoechic]

It has been 47 days now that this hay has been in the coop. It still smells like hay with no poopy odor. There was a little dust to wipe off the roost. The hay is still nice and dry.
You can see that there are some poops starting to show as well as some feathers.

 

[Jakoda]

I've lost track of how long I've been using this, (would be somewhere in this thread Must be atleast a month or more,,and mine is holding up great as well, no smell, little to no dust, LOVE IT,,I do add to it because my chickies like to kick it out of the coop

I actually have thrown some around their run , they've dug up all the grass, and it dries out fast if we get some rain (1/4 of my run is covered w/mesh) they love scratching around in it..

I'll be using this from now on vs shavings, easier to manage , smells nicer in the long run,,just way better in my opinion than the shavings

Thanks again for the tip! I never would have tried this without this thread
Diane

 

[coolcanoechic]

Today is day 55 on this one bag of Lucern Farms High Fiber Gold. I just went out and turned it over really well and wiped the poop off of the walls and roost...lol. I noticed way less dust than I have ever had in there before when cleaning. There is no dust raised when turning it over.

Still dry.
Still smells nice.

I am convinced that I will never use anything else from now on.

I am hoping some of you will benefit from this thread. Thanks for following.

 

[startingover]

You can spray it with a small amount of water to keep the dust down, then turn the bedding and spray again. Moisture will help break down the bedding and essentially make it compost itself and that will create heat. There is a very fine line between a just right wet and a mold producing wet.

 

[TexasLea]

Very interesting. I would think the diverse grasses would be really good for them too as they peck out the seeds and stuff from it. I'd be interested in hearing your review. I usually put hay or straw down in my run during the winter months. I may consider giving this a try if your birds really seem to like it.

 

[coolcanoechic]

I'm not sure if this particular brand is available in Texas, but you can check their site to see if there is a dealer near you. Most horse hay feed contains molasses. This particular one does not.
If you can't locate a dealer near you, just look for chopped hay or straw. Landscapers use it to keep grass seeds in place, and gardners use it in their gardens. It is nicely chopped and works well for the chickens to walk around on. It's sooooooo much better than wood chips!

 

[coolcanoechic]

Ok, it has only been one day so far, but with 5 birds scratching away in the new stuff, there is not one speck of dust yet. I think I'm going to like this stuff!