Artificial grass

[StacyT]

I’m thinking about trying this for bedding in my coops and was wondering if anyone else has tried this and what the results were? My coops aren’t designed for deep bedding and I’ve been cleaning them once a week. I figure if it was artificial grass I could just pull them out, dump them, then clean with a pressure washer.

 

[DobieLover]

Can you post pictures of the inside of your coop?
I personally wouldn't use artificial grass for bedding for several reasons. One, the birds may rip pieces off and eat it. Two, it will degrade with the regular chicken scratching and poop and pressure washing. Three, it offers nothing to absorb odors, moisture or shock impact when chickens jump off the roosts and onto the floor.
Can you install poop boards in your coop?

 

[DonyaQuick]

It won’t be absorbent, which is one of the things bedding in a coop needs to do. The wetter the manure stays, the more it will stink. Is there some other problem with the once a week cleaning pattern you currently have? I clean my coops daily.

 

[BDutch]

I wouldn’t use plastics for the same reason DobieLover says.

Poop boards in combination with a sand floor is great during summer or the whole year in warm climates. Easy to clean and not attractive for parasites. In winter I add bedding and clean the poop boards weekly. A piece of wood blocks the shavings from falling down.

In the nest boxes I use shavings/hay all year round.

 

[RoyalChick]

You say the coop is not designed for deep bedding. Is that because it has a wood floor that might rot?
What others do is put down Lino or heavy protective paint, and then put bedding on top.
Bedding needs to be absorbent and something the chickens can dig around in.

 

[lagrange chicks]

I use artificial grass in my roll out nesting boxes and it works well. When dirty I hose it off and slide it back in.

 

[WingItRanch]

I could see it working in the nesting boxes but as bedding under roost bars?... I used artificial grass on a small porch back when I had to live in a condo for my dog. No matter how much I power washed and cleaned it, it stunk. The woven plastics keep the smell.

I also agree that you run the risk of chickens trying to eat any loose threads.

 

[Altairsky]

yeah I also think the smell will be extremely bad especially in hot weather and it wont go away even after pressure washing.
I would try some cheap corrugated cardboard and just replace it when necessary:
cardboard roll

 

[DonyaQuick]

yeah I also think the smell will be extremely bad especially in hot weather and it wont go away even after pressure washing.
I would try some cheap corrugated cardboard and just replace it when necessary:
cardboard roll

I don't know if it's just my flock of weirdos that have a thing for paper and cardboard, but literally all of my chickens, roosters included, would tear into and eat that roll immediately.

 

[Altairsky]

oh lol. No my flock ignores cardboard but it eats styrofoam alive.