Bedding

[Chickens14]

I have found pine shavings, hay, and straw are so dusty & I have a few hens sneezing from it. What else can I use? My coop is one large building with seperate stalls, silkies in one ( so they sleep on th floor) and young ones that don't roost yet either...
Thankyou Jen

 

[canada-goose]

Mist the bedding a bit to keep the dust down? You could try pellet bedding but that needs a little spraying to make it softer and then it can be a bit dusty.

 

[chicmom]

I really think that chickens produce alot of dander themselves. I have six chicken in a brooder in my office downstairs at home, and it is crazy how much dust gets everywhere overnight!

Really, for an indoor coop, I like to use woodshavings. A friend of mine uses horse bedding that's made of crushed corn cobs.....I think it's all probably dusty.

 

[Suechick]

I use "garden soil" that I buy in 3 cu ft packages from Home Depot. After it's all used up I can take it directly to the garden. I don't know if it is less dusty than shavings or straw though. It certainly doesn't fly around like shavings do. I don't know if it's even a good idea as I've not heard of other people doing this, but, I find it very easy to take care of the coop, I rake it once in a while, throw in some DE and add a couple inches of soil every week or so.

 

[Chickens14]

Hmmm... I like the topsoil idea that is the first & they will take their bath in it

do you find it to get muddy?
They do make alot of dust and in this building I think I am going to have to vaccumm this weekly? Yes or no? It gets thick & I am
sure it is not good for them to inhale...

 

[schoebel_taylor]

I use gound up corn cobs

 

[KaterCheek]

They sell compressed pine sawdust for use in horse stalls. I tried to use it as cat litter. It's no good for cat litter, but it's fairly cheap and is good at absorbing waste and smells.

 

[jeb251]

I use my grass clippings, I never spray it with anything and I mow two acres so, I dry it and bag it for the winter but in summer I put it right in the coops and runns and they love it, and the best thing is its free