Another option to sand or pine shavings...

[EggSighted4Life]

My LFS uses rice hulls when they have chicks. They come in bags similar to shavings.

I tried them with my ducks. They were interesting. I wouldn't call them less dusty or messy. And not sure about their other qualities. But for ducks, I might prefer them.

Agreed, sounds like pricey hay.

 

[wholehearted]

Has anyone tried industrial hemp?

We switched to hemp and love it. Way better than hay, straw, or pine shavings for our needs. It is definitely more expensive than pine shavings (which we have always used in the past), but the benefits make it worthwhile for us. We don't do DLM, but only do a full cleanout of the coop twice a year, adding a little bedding here and there as needed. The hemp is less dusty and it breaks down more readily, so there is a quicker turnaround for composting and using it in the garden. Our pine shavings were taking forever to break down. I also feel like the hemp absorbs/dries out the chicken droppings better than pine and isn't as scratchy.

Even though I think hemp is great, I don't think I would pay the prices you mentioned. We are paying about $20/bale, but have no local supplier. We just stock up when we are in Virginia (New Country Organics). They source from Old Dominion Hemp, which is not too far from their store. I've considered starting a local group in the future to buy it by the pallet because I like it so much.

 

[aart]

We switched to hemp and love it. Way better than hay, straw, or pine shavings for our needs. It is definitely more expensive than pine shavings (which we have always used in the past), but the benefits make it worthwhile for us. We don't do DLM, but only do a full cleanout of the coop twice a year, adding a little bedding here and there as needed. The hemp is less dusty and it breaks down more readily, so there is a quicker turnaround for composting and using it in the garden. Our pine shavings were taking forever to break down. I also feel like the hemp absorbs/dries out the chicken droppings better than pine and isn't as scratchy.

Even though I think hemp is great, I don't think I would pay the prices you mentioned. We are paying about $20/bale, but have no local supplier. We just stock up when we are in Virginia (New Country Organics). They source from Old Dominion Hemp, which is not too far from their store. I've considered starting a local group in the future to buy it by the pallet because I like it so much.

Curious about your set up.
Size of coop, number of birds, poop boards, anything else added, etc????

 

[wholehearted]

Curious about your set up.
Size of coop, number of birds, poop boards, anything else added, etc????

Hi, aart,

Our current coop is 8x14 minus a walled off entry/storage, so about 100 sq ft indoor space. Our previous house/coop was of similar size/design. The chickens have an 8x13 outside covered run. I try to let them range the yard (one acre) when I can supervise, but that's not possible everyday. We only have nine chickens right now, but that has varied over the years; we usually have double that amount. I use a poop board with Sweet PDZ and scoop that every couple days. Vinyl flooring under the hemp bedding and I just turn everything over with a rake occasionally and throw down some PDZ or a little fresh bedding, if needed.

 

[aart]

only do a full cleanout of the coop twice a year, adding a little bedding here and there as needed.

.... I use a poop board with Sweet PDZ and scoop that every couple days. Vinyl flooring under the hemp bedding and I just turn everything over with a rake occasionally and throw down some PDZ or a little fresh bedding, if needed.

Poop board is key to only doing a full change out once or twice a year......I do the same with shavings.

Sounds like you have a great space to population ratio, that helps a ton too.
Thanks for adding the details, always important when comparing techniques.

 

[chaidarling]

From what I've been told, hemp works really well. It's very absorbent and also composts a bit easier than pine shavings.