Bedding

[Hahayden]

I see lots of talking about bedding/litter. Different materials and methods. But I feel like I need more calcification.

Can the same material be in nesting boxes, on the floor of the coop, and on the floor of the run? Or do I need pine/hemp/straw in some places and sand in others?

And secondly, I see very different ideas of when to clean/change the material in these areas. Is it when the smell is too much? I had assumed it would be changed to remove poop. But the deep litter method goes a long time without being changed.

I’m trying to do research before getting chicks. And I don’t want to make them sick due to bad hygiene on my part. I’m in central FL so very humid, not very cold if that makes a difference.

 

[MommyGirl]

I use pine flakes and when I first started with chickens I would remove and clean coop out once a month but now I do the deep liter just keep adding in layers and only clean out twice a year and it works great and never any smell

 

[StinkyAcres]

It comes down to personal preference, your climate, and how your coop/run is built.

Some people don't want to touch and stand in poop when they visit the coop, so they clean it out frequently. Others, like me, don't care as much about that and prefer to clean out the coop less often.

An effective bedding dries out the poop on top and keeps odor, parasites, and mold down. Certain bedding, such as sand and straw, is only effective in areas that are kept dry. Others, such as wood shavings and pine pellets, are better for areas that can get wet.

As for nesting box material - I like to provide something soft that is more like a natural bird nest, like straw or hay. Hens will sit in the boxes and move the strands of hay to create a perfect bowl shape to lay their eggs in. Others prefer roll-out nest boxes which prevents egg eating, but they require less bedding to work properly.

Since your climate is warm and wet, deep litter may be stinkier and wetter than you or your chickens would like. I'd recommend starting with pine shavings for coop bedding and wood chips in the run. Then you can try out other bedding types and methods to compare.

 

[aart]

What kind of bedding you use may depend on how you manage the manure.
This is about cleaning, but covers my big picture

-I use poop boards under roosts with thin(<1/2") layer of sand/PDZ mix, sifted daily(takes 5-10mins) into bucket going to friends compost.
-Scrape big or wet poops off roost and ramps as needed.
- Large flake pine shavings on coop floor, add some occasionally, totally changed out once or twice a year, old shavings added to run.
- My runs have semi-deep litter(cold composting), never clean anything out, just add smaller dry materials on occasion, add larger wood chippings as needed.
Aged ramial wood chippings are best IMO.
-Nests are bedded with straw, add some occasionally, change out if needed(broken egg).

There is no odor, unless a fresh cecal has been dropped and when I open the bucket to add more poop.

That's how I keep it 'clean', have not found any reason to clean 'deeper' in 10+ years.

 

[rosemarythyme]

You may be able to use same material throughout, or you may need to use different materials due to your set up, climate, etc.

Cleaning/cleanouts depend on material(s) used, poop management plan if any, such as poop trays, regular scooping of poop, as well as chicken to litter volume. Smell is a good way of judging to figure out how frequently you might need to clean. I use deep litter in the run so it's less cleaning out and more harvesting compost to keep the level down, and I sift out poop daily in the coop so I only cleanout the coop once a year.

 

[saysfaa]

I see lots of talking about bedding/litter. Different materials and methods. But I feel like I need more calcification.

Can the same material be in nesting boxes, on the floor of the coop, and on the floor of the run?

Yes.

Or do I need pine/hemp/straw in some places and sand in others?

It can work very well to have different bedding in different places.

Pine/hemp/straw very often works well in nest boxes. You might have a board or such across the bottom part of the nest box to help keep it in the nest box.

Pine/hemp/straw very often works well as bedding in the coop either as a mixture or as the only material used. You might raise the pop door and people door or put boards across the bottom parts to keep the bedding in the coop.

Pine/hemp/straw can work well as litter in the run. It depends on how good the drainage is more than how humid your climate is. It also depends on whether you have all three as a mix of materials or it is all one of the three. Generally, the more different materials there are, the better. Straw as a single material tends to be more problematic than most materials.

You can have litter in the coop or bedding in the run.

The difference between bedding and litter is that bedding stays dry and litter is part of a composting system so it needs enough moisture that it does compost but so much moisture that it doesn't compost. If you are a gardener who has compost piles that will make sense. It you aren't a gardener and it doesn't make sense - just ask.

This difference was developed on this forum several years ago when there was a LOT of discussion about deep bedding (kept dry) and deep litter (composting) where each way used either term. These definitions may not be used elsewhere. They are also not always used here because there are so many people new since those discussions.

Sand tends to work well only there the climate is very dry. At least, I think so from what people who like it longer after having it longer than a year say. And from what all the people who don't like it as bedding or litter say.

I've used sand intentionally only on the poop board and unintentionally only where the chickens kicked it out of the dust bath container or shook it out of their feathers after bathing. I hate it. It is heavy even dry, heavier wet, scoops well(ish) only when dry, doesn't stay dry (in my somewhat humid climate), is hard to remove, and hard to dispose of after it is removed.

And secondly, I see very different ideas of when to clean/change the material in these areas. Is it when the smell is too much?

Freshly dropped cecal poops will smell no matter what. Otherwise:

No. If it gets smelly, you know you don't have a good system. It is, most likely, a deep bedding system that isn't dry enough, a deep litter system that has gone anaerobic instead of being aerobic - for any of the reasons compost piles do except probably not because it isn't turned enough since the chickens are really good at turning it. Or it is a system that doesn't use deep bedding or deep litter and isn't cleaned often enough.

How often people clean/change the material in a deep bedding or deep litter system depends on whether they prefer to do a smaller job more often or a bigger job less often.

How often people clean/change the material in a system that doesn't use either deep bedding or deep litter depends on whether they have bedding or litter at all, how deep it is, how much space per chicken they have, and probably other factors.

It is possible to have deep bedding in part of the space (in most or all of the coop, for example), deep litter in another part of the space (in the run, for example), and neither in part of the space (poop boards or outside a run, for example). On this case (these cases? Since there are many combinations), someone would clean part more often than other parts.

...I’m trying to do research before getting chicks.

Very wise.

 

[chicken_lady101]

I see lots of talking about bedding/litter. Different materials and methods. But I feel like I need more calcification.

Can the same material be in nesting boxes, on the floor of the coop, and on the floor of the run? Or do I need pine/hemp/straw in some places and sand in others?

And secondly, I see very different ideas of when to clean/change the material in these areas. Is it when the smell is too much? I had assumed it would be changed to remove poop. But the deep litter method goes a long time without being changed.

I’m trying to do research before getting chicks. And I don’t want to make them sick due to bad hygiene on my part. I’m in central FL so very humid, not very cold if that makes a difference.

Rice hulls! They’re effective and safe! Use the layer bedding method with the hulls and you’ll be set up for success.

 

[ChaosMom]

Rice hulls! They’re effective and safe! Use the layer bedding method with the hulls and you’ll be set up for success.

Where do you get rice hulls? I love them (Carolina Native Nursery uses them), but I haven't noticed them in stores.

 

[Clukcluks]

I see lots of talking about bedding/litter. Different materials and methods. But I feel like I need more calcification.

Can the same material be in nesting boxes, on the floor of the coop, and on the floor of the run? Or do I need pine/hemp/straw in some places and sand in others?

And secondly, I see very different ideas of when to clean/change the material in these areas. Is it when the smell is too much? I had assumed it would be changed to remove poop. But the deep litter method goes a long time without being changed.

I’m trying to do research before getting chicks. And I don’t want to make them sick due to bad hygiene on my part. I’m in central FL so very humid, not very cold if that makes a difference.

Hello Hahayden:
You asked everything that I was hoping to get answered I am trying to inform myself of the how, what, why, and when.