Cat Litter in the Coop??

[PunkinPeep]

We're still finishing our coop, and before we got it dried in, we managed to get the inside all rained on and wet. I'm planning to use some left-over cat litter to get it well-dried before i paint inside.

But that got me thinking.

Does anyone use cat litter underneath their bedding to help keep things dryer?

Is there a reason not to?

Would love any input.

Thanks!

 

[wombat]

I've never tried it.

I would think it would work, but it's an expensive solution if you have more than a handful of birds in a small coop.

I would be concerned with them using it for grit, depending on what it's been made from.

 

[blue fire]

I don't know if you should, but I just use cat litter. It is a lot easier to clean up chicken poopies with.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Good to know.

I'm basically thinking of adding what i have leftover after we swore off having a cat box in the house. Our cat goes outside now (thank God!).

I agree that unless i found some UNBELIEVABLE deal, it would be cost-prohibitive to use it all the time. But it's nice to know what your options are and how you can make use of what you have.

blue fire, you use nothing but cat litter for your bedding? how many chickens do you have?

 

[patandchickens]

Depends what kind of cat litter you mean. The clay stuff, I do not know as you'd want it in their coop, the little granules would be tempting for them to eat and I know that lots of people worry that it could cause crop problems (I do not know how common such problems would *be* if you used cat litter, but I would not do it myself).

It would only decrease coop humidity if you removed the cat litter on a regular basis, though. Otherwise it is just a 'sponge' sitting there preventing ventilation from being able to dry things out, you know?

If you are just wanting to dry the coop out on a one-time basis, honestly I think the cheapest and most effective thing is to put dry shavings in there (stomp them down well), then remove if they are noticeably damp, and run a fan til it's dry enough for you to paint. If painting is not an issue, some stall-dry powder or something similar would probably bind up the last residual dampness enough for you to be able to put chickens in there (on bedding of course) without problems.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[blue fire]

I have 8 we have the kind that is for all animals it says. It has pictures of bunny rabbits and kitties and horsies on it. Mom bought it at a pet store, comes in a big bag.

 

[CityClucks]

I would be very careful NOT to use the kind of "clumping" cat litter that sticks together when it gets wet - I think it would be very hard on your chicken's digestive systems if they were to ingest it.