Anyone use Koop Clean?

[aart]

Website says it's Chopped hay and straw with PDZ added.
How big is a bag of this stuff? Is it highly compressed like pine shavings?

Seems pricey for what it is......but I'm very frugal and an outspoken marketing skeptic.

I would think if it's not properly dried before packaging it might mold in a humid environment.
Maybe why they say to clean out once a week? (as well as to sell more of it course)

I buy the 25# bags of PDZ for $10 and mix with sand(quikcrete brand fine sand $4/50#) 1:4 for poop boards.

I saw tiny bags of zeolite(not sure if it was a PDZ brand name) packaged for chicken owners at TSC, price was ridiculous...something like 4-5$/lb?

 

[Cindy in PA]

It is performing OK. I probably don't have enough of it in the coop to be honest. It doesn't smell as fresh as it did & I don't have a poop board. I'm trying it for the summer, but am not sure it will work for deep litter in the winter. It does stick to eggs even more than pine chips. I would have to use more than 2 bags in the winter & that would exceed the cost of equine pellets & chips I use now. I think it is a good product & it's heat treated (to address the mold issue above), but the $18.99 price tag is pretty steep. I will have to wait and see how labor intensive the clean out is compared to chips.

 

[iwiw60]

It is performing OK. I probably don't have enough of it in the coop to be honest. It doesn't smell as fresh as it did & I don't have a poop board. I'm trying it for the summer, but am not sure it will work for deep litter in the winter. It does stick to eggs even more than pine chips. I would have to use more than 2 bags in the winter & that would exceed the cost of equine pellets & chips I use now. I think it is a good product & it's heat treated (to address the mold issue above), but the $18.99 price tag is pretty steep. I will have to wait and see how labor intensive the clean out is compared to chips.

Yes, even if I could get here on the West Coast of USA, the price is waaaay too prohibitive. I'll just stick with pine shavings for the floor of the coop, but I will never give up using the PDZ in my poop tray for the roost....LOVE that stuff! So easy to clean.

 

[kateseidel]

I use a chopped forage (chopped hay mixed with glycerin) from our farm supply store - most places carry it, I happen to be using Triple Crown. About $14.00 for a compressed bale. I am using it in the floor of my 10x14 coop, with 15 hens. http://www.triplecrownfeed.com/products/forages/grass-forage-feedthehorse-feed-the-horse/ . Really really important to make sure you do NOT get the kind with molasses in it!!

I LOVE this stuff. The glycerin means no dust at all. It smells clean and fresh, and the ladies love to scratch around in it. I use about 2/3's of a bag on the floor. It is thick to make sure the ladies don't slip when they jump down from the roost of the next box. About 6" deep when I put it out, but it compacts down over the week to about 2-3 inches.

Once a week I pick the really messy parts out with a rake (under the roosts). Fills about a 5 gallon bucket. Then I use the rake to kind of toss the rest back up and over the cleaned areas, fluffing it back up. I add a couple of handfuls every week when I pick out the poop. Maybe every three months I take everything out and replace completely.

Having tried everything else (shavings, sand, stall dry, straw, pellets) - I am finally happy with this! And my old mare likes that she occasional gets a handful as a treat <g>.

This photo is about two weeks into a bag.

 

[iwiw60]

What do you pay per bale of this stuff?

 

[ADozenGirlz]

The difference between that product and Koop Clean is that Koop Clean is heat-dried so there is not chance of mold or mites as there is with regular straw or chopped straw (and Koop Clean has hay plus Sweet PDZ).

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Website says it's Chopped hay and straw with PDZ added.
How big is a bag of this stuff? Is it highly compressed like pine shavings?

Seems pricey for what it is......but I'm very frugal and an outspoken marketing skeptic.

I would think if it's not properly dried before packaging it might mold in a humid environment.
Maybe why they say to clean out once a week? (as well as to sell more of it course)

I buy the 25# bags of PDZ for $10 and mix with sand(quikcrete brand fine sand $4/50#) 1:4 for poop boards.

I saw tiny bags of zeolite(not sure if it was a PDZ brand name) packaged for chicken owners at TSC, price was ridiculous...something like 4-5$/lb?

The bag is 2.4 cubic feet of bedding per bag, (approximately 30 lbs) which covers 63 square feet when spread at a depth of two inches. Yes, it is highly compressed and is larger than a bag of pine shavings typically found at TSC. The hay and straw are heat-treated, which kills mold spores and weed seeds and they are cut short, which maximizes absorbency and hastens decomposition of spent bedding in compost vs. straw alone.

You can read my review of it at this link if you like. I am a skeptic too- the only way to convince me is by performing as claimed and Koop Clean does. Try it for yourself and then decide whether it's worth the price.

 

[aart]

Quote: Thanks.

I'm pretty happy with what I'm using...sand/PDZ for roost boards and pine shavings for floor (which does an excellent job of drying poops) totally changed out and composted every 6 months....but I've only had chooks since last September, so this summer might change my tune.

The only advantage I see with the Koop Clean is maybe it composts down faster.

I do appreciate your blog due to your thoroughness of research, it very rarely kicks my skepticism into gear ;-) tho the massive marketing items brings me a few more grains of salt.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Thanks.

I'm pretty happy with what I'm using...sand/PDZ for roost boards and pine shavings for floor (which does an excellent job of drying poops) totally changed out and composted every 6 months....but I've only had chooks since last September, so this summer might change my tune.

The only advantage I see with the Koop Clean is maybe it composts down faster.

I do appreciate your blog due to your thoroughness of research, it very rarely kicks my skepticism into gear ;-) tho the massive marketing items brings me a few more grains of salt.

What are "massive marketing items?"

 

[Fletch83]

The bag is 2.4 cubic feet of bedding per bag, (approximately 30 lbs) which covers 63 square feet when spread at a depth of two inches. Yes, it is highly compressed and is larger than a bag of pine shavings typically found at TSC. The hay and straw are heat-treated, which kills mold spores and weed seeds and they are cut short, which maximizes absorbency and hastens decomposition of spent bedding in compost vs. straw alone.

You can read my review of it at this link if you like. I am a skeptic too- the only way to convince me is by performing as claimed and Koop Clean does. Try it for yourself and then decide whether it's worth the price. http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2014/05/koop-clean-fresh-new-chicken-bedding.html

I just read your review. Sounds AWESOME. However this was my favorite part: "Used in nesting boxes, facilitates clean-up from broken eggs and unauthorized use of nest boxes as out-houses."