Poop boards with coffee grounds

TaylorGlade

Over egg-sposed
Premium Feather Member
Jul 29, 2023
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Florida Panhandle
We are redesigning our roosts and want to add poop boards.

I see some people that use coffee grounds in their boards - but they are buying coffee bedding. Can you just re-use your morning brew? What is the advantage of coffee? Also, is mixing sand, pdz pellets and coffee acceptable?
 
Coffee grounds are toxic to chickens so if you use them you have to make sure you don’t have any curious eaters in your flock, or that they just sample it and don’t go to town on it.

I have been working at a cafe/coffee roaster for the past year and I take home the coffee chaff (the skins/husks that are removed during the roasting process). It’s highly absorbent and excellent for any sort of deep litter but not for nesting boxes because it will stick to the eggs when they are laid.
 
It’s the caffeine that is toxic and it can cause pretty serious complications. I’m not sure exactly how toxic or in what quantities but there is still caffeine in used coffee grounds. It affects calcium absorption and organ systems in chickens. I’m not sure if it will definitively kill them but it will definitely affect them if they eat it. If they don’t eat it it’s not going to be a problem.
 
I use sweet PDZ, and used to add used, dried coffee grounds. But after adding the newer batch of pullets last year, I had to stop. A couple of them picked at the trays. Now I just add them to my compost
 
Since it's toxic, why do they make a bedding with it in it? What benefits does it impart? Fragrance?
The *Grounds* brand coffee ground bedding does not have caffeine in it. It's nearly impossible to find these days (I stockpiled last winter), but I've been using it for almost a year without issue. The benefit is the odor control, the sift-ability, and that it is completely dust-free.

Unfortunately, it seems like the company is going under because they only use grounds from a single coffee company in Indiana and supply apparently isn't keeping up with demand. Huge bummer.
 

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