Alternative bedding material

[Unsworth]

I have been using sand in my chicken house for underneath the roosts. I like it enough but am tired of the dragging heavy sand around. I have used pine shavings before but it isn't the best for the garden. Has anyone used peat moss for chicken bedding? Any other alternatives or ideas? I want to be able to transfer it to the garden.

 

[Cyprus]

I've thought about using reptile prime bedding in the summer to cool the feet of my birds, and thus the whole bird.

 

[perchie.girl]

I have been using sand in my chicken house for underneath the roosts. I like it enough but am tired of the dragging heavy sand around. I have used pine shavings before but it isn't the best for the garden. Has anyone used peat moss for chicken bedding? Any other alternatives or ideas? I want to be able to transfer it to the garden.

depending on availability... not sure in your area... But I use Rice hulls when I can get them... They dont compress to make a matt... Water permeable... Top always dry...
And they compost.

I started using them for my horse because she wasnt laying down in her hard dirt corral. Her legs were stocking up or swelling. The stable manager insisted NO Shavings... And listed a group of bedding allowable. I chose Rice hulls.... almost half again as expensive as shavings but my girl was worth it.

I put a big pile in the middle of her corral and she had an awefull lot of fun nibbling through the hulls finding rice bits... Not too long after I heard and Oooff... as she ploped down on the pile It rained that week and the top stayed dry and I could see evidence that she was using them.

Fast forward to home and I started using them for the chickens as well... Almost the same reaction.... Picking through and scratching caused them to scatter the bedding out very nicely.... Scoop able with a kitty litter scoop for spot cleaning... and totally compostable... Though they are water resistant they do break down...

I am also heading toward using a tarp hung between two bars sor of like a hammock... Under the roosts... The night time poo lands in the tarp and dessicates... Then it can be removed Like a poo taco... you can go a week or more depending on volume... and dumped in the compost... Rinsed and replaced. Then the coop itself stays Cleaner and you can choose the litter of choice.

deb

 

[Unsworth]

depending on availability... not sure in your area... But I use Rice hulls when I can get them... They dont compress to make a matt... Water permeable... Top always dry...
And they compost.

I started using them for my horse because she wasnt laying down in her hard dirt corral. Her legs were stocking up or swelling. The stable manager insisted NO Shavings... And listed a group of bedding allowable. I chose Rice hulls.... almost half again as expensive as shavings but my girl was worth it.

I put a big pile in the middle of her corral and she had an awefull lot of fun nibbling through the hulls finding rice bits... Not too long after I heard and Oooff... as she ploped down on the pile It rained that week and the top stayed dry and I could see evidence that she was using them.

Fast forward to home and I started using them for the chickens as well... Almost the same reaction.... Picking through and scratching caused them to scatter the bedding out very nicely.... Scoop able with a kitty litter scoop for spot cleaning... and totally compostable... Though they are water resistant they do break down...

I am also heading toward using a tarp hung between two bars sor of like a hammock... Under the roosts... The night time poo lands in the tarp and dessicates... Then it can be removed Like a poo taco... you can go a week or more depending on volume... and dumped in the compost... Rinsed and replaced. Then the coop itself stays Cleaner and you can choose the litter of choice.

deb

Thanks for the great ideas.

 

[flyin-lowe]

I have 16 hens. Each spring I put a few inches of shavings into the coop as a base. Every couple of weeks I add a layer of grass clippings, or leaves, or some type of yard type waste. They love when I add new stuff as they dig through for bugs etc. While doing this they also keep stuff churned up and it breaks down. I repeat this all summer and then in the fall I shovel everything out and spread it over my garden to sit all winter. Then I start that same process over. Something I add some straw in the winter depending on the weather and if the leaves are frozen/wet. etc. Then in the spring before my garden is ready to plant I shovel it out onto the garden and then till it all in. Some people say it is not a true "deep litter method" but whatever, the bedding breaks down into a compost, the coop does not stink and I only have to shovel it out twice a year.

 

[Unsworth]

I have 16 hens. Each spring I put a few inches of shavings into the coop as a base. Every couple of weeks I add a layer of grass clippings, or leaves, or some type of yard type waste. They love when I add new stuff as they dig through for bugs etc. While doing this they also keep stuff churned up and it breaks down. I repeat this all summer and then in the fall I shovel everything out and spread it over my garden to sit all winter. Then I start that same process over. Something I add some straw in the winter depending on the weather and if the leaves are frozen/wet. etc. Then in the spring before my garden is ready to plant I shovel it out onto the garden and then till it all in. Some people say it is not a true "deep litter method" but whatever, the bedding breaks down into a compost, the coop does not stink and I only have to shovel it out twice a year.

I don't have enough grass clippings or other material around here in the winter months to add over the top. That makes it tough. Often have snow on the ground in winter but an excellent idea.