experiment with bedding

[coolcanoechic]

It does mold when left out in the elements. Then it smells awful and is terrible for animals and humans health. I go through it fast enough that I don't have that issue. I also have a very large coop as it's actually my barn so I don't have a problem with them walking on it. It lays out pretty flat. I have about a 3 inch depth right now. I do throw scratch down every once in awhile so the chickens will turn the hay over for me. I'm lazy like that. I do say I love hay for it. Chopped or otherwise it's just a great bedding.

I agree. It's way better than shavings. It seems if you were using shavings, that you might have a ton of work to do every day.....

Sounds like you have a very large area to take care of!

 

[oldrooster]

I think the finer chopped the bedding is the better it will work for deep litter.

The whole reason regular straw is used in horse stalls is because it will make a solid surface under the manure so the person can slide their fork under the manure pile and lift the pile, along with its base of straw, out of the stall in one neat movement. This is great for animals with large manure, such as horses...but terrible for chicken poop because the straw holds the chicken manure up in the air for maximum smelliness.

If you want the chickens to turn under their fresh manure, hence decreasing the smell, then you need a finely chopped bedding that doesn't hold up the manure the way regular, baled straw does.

People use the terms "hay" and "straw" almost interchangeably when they're completely different products from a variety of plants. If you ever get the chance to handle plants (grasses) that will become hay vs plants that will become straw (the stalks of grains such as wheat or rye) then you'll see why one would be good for absorbing moisture and the other would not. Bedding with straw is sort of like bedding with the twig part of a plant--not so absorbent. Bedding with grasses (such as hay) is like bedding with the leaf part of a plant--generally more friable and absorbent.

(sorry for the rant but this is my biggest pet peeve!)

I have friends with horses they use straw because it also cushions the stress of standing on a hard solid surface. I was told the horses body is not made to stand for hours on concrete floors it does damage to their muscular structure (along with tendons, ligaments etc. etc. etc....).

 

[Daisy8s]

I have friends with horses they use straw because it also cushions the stress of standing on a hard solid surface. I was told the horses body is not made to stand for hours on concrete floors it does damage to their muscular structure (along with tendons, ligaments etc. etc. etc....).

Yep, that's very true of anyone--horses, cows, people. Nobody was made to stand on concrete. We used several inches of sand or sawdust as cushioning and then straw on top to make it easy to clean away the manure.

 

[coolcanoechic]

Ok, Day 13. I took some new pictures.

Before cleaning.


I don't know if this can be seen. I ran my finger over the roof over the feeder. There is a tiny bit of dust on my finger. Sorry, My hands are hard working hands and I will never get to be a hand model.....

This is after swooshing the chopped hay around and changing the water.


This is the chopped straw mulch in the run. It has been there for a week now. It is not the horse feed that I am experimenting with in the coop.




Everything still looks and smells nice!

 

[coolcanoechic]

Hi deek,
How is your bedding holding up?

 

[deek]

Hi deek,
How is your bedding holding up?

Just finished my daily once over. Smells nice! droppings are staying dry. I do have a bit of dust, but I am attributing it to my 7 week olds loosing their fluff and getting big girl feathers. So some of mine could quite possibly be dander. Either way, I don't care. It smells nice, with 12 babies in a 4 x 8, and it is dry in my humidity. BTW, my chicklets are large and so is their ....

!

So far, two thumbs up. I thought I'd get a storm last night. Didn't though. Wondered what that would have done if anything. Will keep you posted.

 

[coolcanoechic]

Just finished my daily once over. Smells nice! droppings are staying dry. I do have a bit of dust, but I am attributing it to my 7 week olds loosing their fluff and getting big girl feathers. So some of mine could quite possibly be dander. Either way, I don't care. It smells nice, with 12 babies in a 4 x 8, and it is dry in my humidity. BTW, my chicklets are large and so is their ....

!

So far, two thumbs up. I thought I'd get a storm last night. Didn't though. Wondered what that would have done if anything. Will keep you posted.

Yay! Thanks for the update!

 

[Jakoda]

Day 4 here, and also two thumbs up) nice and dry and not really any dust,,I'm definitely liking this stuff!

 

[deek]

Day 4 here, and also two thumbs up) nice and dry and not really any dust,,I'm definitely liking this stuff!

Good deal! Great to hear.

 

[joan1708]

I went to TSC in Mansfield texas. They didn't have this. But, I'm still looking. It just looks so nice from your pictures!