Alternatives to wood shavings?

[rarebear]

I use river sand and will never go back to this shavings..I agree, they were everywhere including stuck to my dog's fur

The sand is easily sifted using a manure fork with hardware cloth attached. Clean up takes minutes.

 

[cassyopia]

Because?

no reason the stall and wood pellet stuff are made the same. the stall stuff costs more and is harder to come by where you can get wood pellet stove fuel at almost any hardware store for cheaper.

 

[tgooberbutt]

I went to the nearest river bank with a couple of big buckets

but if you cant do that maybe you can call your local Quary and ask about it,or you can just go to Lowes or Home Depot and get some playground sand and Pea gravel and make some river sand, ive done this too

my girls like it either way.There is a great artical on here about using river sand in the coop,its gat alot of good tips and suggestions.I hope you find this helpful

Is there any particular reason why it's RIVER sand? Can we use beach sand? I only ask because I have easier access to an ocean beach than a river bank. I currently use the "all-purpose" playground sand from home depot, but I like the idea of a finer sand...

 

[Muffin14143]

Hmm, interesting. Could sand be used outside in the run as well?

 

[RoosterMoose]

Is there any particular reason why it's RIVER sand? Can we use beach sand? I only ask because I have easier access to an ocean beach than a river bank. I currently use the "all-purpose" playground sand from home depot, but I like the idea of a finer sand...

Well if it's coming from a saltwater beach then the salt content may cause issues?? Just an educated guess lol

 

[Peggi]

Do you have a Tractor Supply store nearby? The shavings we get from them are heavier, not as fine. They will stick, but not as badly as thinner shavings. Not all shavings are created equal. (-:

 

[bruceha2000]

I thought the coop recommendation per bird was 2sqft...I would rather not go that low, but it gives a minimal guideline.

Read the word: "minimal".

If you have regular "large fowl" chickens, they will take up a square foot or more each just standing there. Figure out how much space you take up standing. then get a bunch of friends and stand in squares twice that number. Have everyone stick their arms out now and then. Do YOU want to live like that?

Will they FIT in 2 sq ft each? Yes.
Will they be able to move around? Not much.
Stretch their wings? Sure, as long as no other bird near them wants to stretch at the same time and those low in the order don't tick off those higher by smacking them with a wing now and then.

I would consider 2 sq ft acceptable ONLY if the birds are RARELY confined to the coop other than at night when a foot of ROOST space per bird is fine, unless it is hot, then they need to spread out. My chickens aren't pets but they aren't going to suffer from inhumane conditions either.

have about 300+ tons of pine lying around
Ah, I didn't consider the sap! I would have maple syrup flavored eggs lol!

If you can get maple flavor out of a pine tree, I bet you can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear as well.

Bruce

 

[louisianarednek]

i use pine straw
and they seem to like it pretty well and there is a ton of it on the ground for free

 

[Crisses]

Read the word: "minimal".

Yes, that's what I said I know it's not really enough. I consider it a bare minimum too.

As for "pine syrup" --- not really...it's pine tar. I wouldn't want that on my birds. Pine must be seasoned, etc.

 

[KnobbyOaks]

Oh, l forgot to mention a very important detail. Many of you may not have the problem of wood shavings sticking to your clothes, but my coop is raised up from the ground so the chickens are at shoulder level with me. When I reach in to pick one up, the wood shavings stick to me. Here is a picture of the coop . This is eye level for me.

I apologize for not being able to get through this entire thread before responding to your photo, but I will get through the thread.

That's a nice coop and I don't think it matters much what is in the bottom if you're going to bend over it to pick up a chicken, it's going to stick to you. If it were me with this set up, I'd make sure there was a 1x4 or 1x6 or even 1x8 across the bottom of the door opening. That way the bedding would not come out and you wouldn't be touching any of it in the first place to stick as you lean over the top of it. Good luck. See y'all at the end of the thread.