Alternatives to wood shavings?

[vivinsetx]

Hi Can u use the rice hulls for chickens,will they eat them?

 

[JimH99]

you can buy sand blasting sand at most building supply centers if you don't need a lot. It is cheap too and very clean, have used it for bottoms of aquariums. They have different size of grain too.

 

[brahmapapa]

Well, the website says this stuff is only available in Texas and Louisiana. It looks nice though. I was searching the web and found this, does anybody use it?
http://www.permastall.com/#!rice-hull
Looked pretty nice to me.

this looks like a great product but i would be concerned that consumed as you know the chickens will do, the treatment might be slightly toxic. Nowhere does it talk about it being safe to eat.

 

[Joe Prepper]

"Construction" hay is usually cheap and because it is not grown for food quality is typically not treated with chemicals or fertilizer. That way you can go straight from the coop to the compost pile. As long as the hay is not in standing water no worries. In heavy water mold becomes an issue with straw/hay. Woods chips are a really good option especially if you have free source or a chipper/shredder. As far as tracking them inside......... take your boots off and strip at the door. Really though like others said..it is probably the side of the shavings.

 

[Crisses]

Don't know about the coop floor but I don't think I'd but more than 15 or 16 chickens in an 8x8 unless they are bantams.

Bruce

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

 

[JacobMaxwell]

Sand! Used in conjunction with a droppings board and the coop is infinitely cleaner than any other bedding choice. Plus, it keeps the eggs cleaner because the hens' feet are cleaned as they walk through it to get to the nest boxes! There are lots of reasons to use sand, those are just the two biggies (oh ya, and it's cheaper than anything else you can buy!). http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/09/chicken-coop-bedding-sand-litter.html

I saw this idea on the internet and tried it in my coop. Everything worked great until temperatures dropped below freezing. The sand became cold, then a solid block.

 

[JacobMaxwell]

I use straw...it does end up all over the yard and what not from falling out of the coop when I drag out the ramp and stuff like that...but it's been great so far. I'll never try shavings. They are too expensive. I have a lot of shavings now that are drying..when we cut up firewood and take down trees I bag up the shavings and use those sometimes...but in the way of things that have to be bought. I will always buy a few bales of hay...and it doesn't stick to your clothes and what not...anyway I am rambling, but I vote hay or straw.

Shavings are quite expensive when you buy them, but I get them completely free from a local sawmill. Usually if you ask permission, they'll let you have all the shavings you want.

 

[morsekathan]

I use sand on the floor of my coop after reading the excellent article about on this website. It is so easy to clean up. Two or three minutes a day with a big kitty litter scooper. I used a cardboard liner in the nest boxes with straw, but I don't know if it is necessary. My last flock would always kick the straw out until I got the hint and stopped putting it in. I have some in the nest box now, but only because I think it should be there. I don't think these hens care at all.

 

[BigRooNTN]

I started out with using straw on the floor and next boxes but decided to try wood shavings. I use the pine and got them from TS for about $5 a bale. I have an 8X8 coop and it covered it very well. It's about 3 inches deep on the average. I also use it in the nesting boxes. They work very well.

As far as tracking in the wood chips, I used to have that problem until I got an old cheap pair of rubber boots to wear to and from the coop and run. I simply take them off at the door and no chips in the house. Makes my DW very happy. You may want to find and old smock to wear back and forth and while cleaning. After your chores, simply take it off and hang it up in the garage.

 

[lgbchick]

I actually used shredded paper right out of my paper shredder in the girls' nest boxes. They love to bed down in it, especially during cold winter days.