No smell in my Coop

[Coos NH]

I have used both in my coop with success. I have also used combination. As long as they are wood pelletts I dont think you can go wrong. They should all act the same way.

 

[starina]

I resurrecting this thread with several questions:
Most of the stove pellets may have black walnut in the hardwood mix, are chickens sensitive to the toxins in black walnut?
Has anyone used the pellets through a northern winter? Are they an insulating bedding? Does the sawdust that results from the pellets disintegrating pack down?
Thought I'd ask before I go and pick up a load of pellets. Thanks!

 

[VelvettFog]

Quote:
None of the wood pellets that I buy for my stove have any hard wood in them. I'm in the PNW so maybe that's why?

Do you call the PNW "northern winter"?

Yes the pellets and sawdust that they turn into will insulate your floor. There is also a slow compost going on, so that generates a little heat as well.

It packs down a little bit, but nothing that a good garden rake can't fix in a few minutes.

 

[starina]

They all seem to be hardwood here, in CNY. I'm pretty sure the PNW is far milder than we are here.

 

[Coos NH]

Here is a run down of what the pellets did after having them in the coop fom June 2011 until April 2012. No smell.......I did not change any pellets although in February I did shovel about 4 five gallon pails of broken down material out as it was piling up pretty good and getting into their water. As the pellets break down they expand so I am going to guess you will wind up with about 15% more material then you started with. A friend of mine tried this method but didnt lay pellets in deep enough ( I had about 8+ inches, she had about 3 inches) and she did get an amonia odor which I never had.

Pellet pros - Inexpensive to use, stays clean, no stink, chickens seem to like it and they can scratch in it easily. It also acts as a good insulater and is very absorbant. I had no damp or wet bedding at any time.

Pellet Cons- Dusty when they break down.

When I cleaned the pellets out this wekend I found they were dry, easy to shovel with no mess at all. After I shoveled them out into my wheel barrow I used a shop vac to vac down the coop. I had no wet or damp material anywhere in the coop. Not all of the pellets were broke down, many were just swelled up in the corners.

On another note I do believe that a daily rake back and forth is well worth the effort and became part of my daily regiment in about Decemeber. I always raked what was left for droppings under the roost under each morning. Nothing too tough just a little raking to turn it over, the girls did the rest. I have 10 girls in case anyone is wondering.

I am going to switch to Pine shaving and see how that works. If it fails I will go back to pellets as I know they work. I am going to try the shavings with the same guidelines under which I used the pellets and see if the material has an effect on things or not. My guess is the pellets will turn out to be a better performer but I am going to find out......... I learn so much from this site I thought I would report my results so that others could see how deep litter and wood pellets worked for me.......

From Northern NH

 

[PDXcluck]

Thank you for the follow up!

Your observations are very helpful and I am curious to hear how the pellets vs. shavings comparison turns out.

Good luck!

 

[Coos NH]

One observation that I have already seen with the shavings. They are light so whenever the girls fly down from their perch in the morning the shavings fly all over the place ! Im hoping this calms down a little once they ( the shavings ) are "aged". On a plus note the shavings dont foul the water like pellets do if the pellets get into the waterer......That part I like !

 

[Kay56]

CoosNH, thanks for the information...we are getting our coop ready and have spent many hours on the site trying to figure out what to use...your resource has been very helpful and I will continue to follow for your input of pellets or shavings. BTW...my hubby and I are visiting Hampton, NH this week and just love it here!

 

[Coos NH]

NH is an awesome state. We moved back in 2005 after 13 years of being gone to the mid west. One thing I will tell you no matter what you use for bedding in your coop is that you need to make sure you vent it well. Good airflow will make a huge difference. I have 2 large gable vents and then I also have a ridge vent at the top of the roofs peak and the soffits are vented the entire length . When my small coop door that leads to the run is opened you can actually feel the airflow go through the coop even on a calm day. My pellets after all of those months were dry as a bone even with all of the bird droppings. I was amazed to say the least. Moisture needs to be considered during your design and make sure you vent things well. I do close off the soffit vents in the winter with plastic pellet bags ( I like to recycle ) when it starts to get into the single digits and below.............. I will report later on how the pine shavings do once I give them a few months so I have a good comparison. All my friends tell me ( all have switched now to pellets ) that Im crazy and that I will go back to pellets. Time will tell....lol