What bedding do you use? - POLL

[mdguffey]

Using straw right now, found a place with shavings from different trees not all pine. going to try that and see how it works. will be putting sand in the run this spring

 

[Poupoulles]

Its kind of mixed for me. I use pine shavings but I use the deep bedding method. Does that make sense? Especially in winter, the bedding gets really deep.

 

[roxyblue]

Its kind of mixed for me. I use pine shavings but I use the deep bedding method. Does that make sense? Especially in winter, the bedding gets really deep.

yup, makes perfect sense....i'm bet your chooks love the deep bedding in winter.

 

[wildriverswolf90]

For those of you that use sand, can I just use any kind of sand or is there a certain quality I should get?

 

[Keltara]

For those of you that use sand, can I just use any kind of sand or is there a certain quality I should get?

River sand is best, construction sand (attainable at Home Depot or Lowes) second, and as a last resort, play sand.

 

[billl2099]

we use pine shaving

 

[roxyblue]

I got play sand, and am actually liking it a lot! It is a really nice consistency and very easy to shovel through. Each morning when I am feeding the girls I open up the door to the coop and sift through it all, then I dump the poo into the compost. It works very well and there is literally no smell, even after using it for a couple weeks.

 

[Chicken0Chasers]

We use sand in the outdoor run (it works great, no mud and it dries out fast) and inside the coop we use animal bedding pellets (they are pellets made for horse stalls etc.) They break down as they get wet or poopy and turn into a wonderfully soft material (kind of hard to explain its like sawdust only larger pieces so not dusty like sawdust) I used it in the brooder and in the coop and I will not use anything else.  There is literally no smell and it dries out the poos really fast.  I put 3 or 4 bags in last June and have not had to change them yet. I rake/stir it up about once a week so it doesn't get packed down (I want them to have a soft landing from their roosts) Also they are under $5 a bag so that is great value for how long they last.  Keep in mind that we use a poop board which we clean daily and that helps alot.  I also through some DE every now and then for insect/pest prevention.  We use pine shavings and grass hay in the nest boxes.

That sounds like a great idea! Where do you get the animal bedding pellets from? What is the name of them/company theyre made by? My husband & I are total newbies at all of this & we're trying to find out & use the most cost effective, odor effective, flea/mite preventative materials out there. Thanks for your help!!

 

[r709shackleford]

Regarding the comments about the deep litter method...yes, this is a method instead of a precise bedding ingredient but no, it would not work with all of the ingredients listed in the poll. For example, you could not do the deep litter method with sand as the purpose of the deep litter method is to have the bedding ingredient breaking down alongside the poop in a continually composting action. The compost action releases some heat, which is why it's a great method for cooler climates as it is warmer underfoot than I imagine sand to be in the midst of winter.

Straw and hay would also be poor deep litter ingredients as they are too big to break down easily and tend to clump and hold moisture. The ideal deep litter bedding can be easily churned under by the scratching of the chickens because a) you want the fresh poop turned under to eliminate smell, and b) you want to introduce oxygen into the bedding to support composting.

I began my bedding with a 3-4 inch layer of composted dirt from my 2-yr-old compost pile to transfer all the necessary micro-organisms for composting. Then, I added yard waste (grass clippings and leaves). Every day I throw kitchen scraps (only fruit and veg, no meat or dairy) onto their bedding, especially targeting areas under the roost that have fresh manure. My goal is to have the chickens scratch under fresh manure in the process of eating the kitchen scraps. Every 8 weeks in summer and every 4-6 weeks in winter (depending on how much time they spend inside) I add another 6 inches of leaves and rake around any clumped/wet spots so they can dry out.

Every visitor I have to my coop comments on the fact that there is no smell. And, I only have to clean it once a year... in the spring this bedding will go right into my garden.

So, here is my question that I've been wanting to ask for awhile. Why do people use poop boards? In every other aspect of society we seek to bury poop as it it smelly and nasty to handle. Yet, poop boards are specifically designed to hold the poop up in the air (which means maximum smelliness, to me). I understand some people clean their poop boards daily but...what if you can't? Life happens and there would be times the poop boards wouldn't get cleaned. So, why create a system that requires daily cleaning or else there are seriously stinky consequences? I'm truly curious as I always feel like I'm missing something when people exclaim that they love their poop boards.

I like the deep litter method with yard waste as bedding because I clean only once a year and there is no smell from my coop.

As poop, leaves, food scraps, and other misc things break down in the coop. Wouldn't that create a lot of moisture that would rot the floor of the coop? I am assuming your post means you do all that inside the coop. Do you have metal or lenolium down on your floor?

 

[jojomojo]

As poop, leaves, food scraps, and other misc things break down in the coop. Wouldn't that create a lot of moisture that would rot the floor of the coop? I am assuming your post means you do all that inside the coop. Do you have metal or lenolium down on your floor?

I was wondering this too, hopefully we get an answer (since this thread is kind of old). I'm thinking maybe its a dirt floor coop?