Chick bedding question pine? Appropriate

[ChicKat]

aggiemae--

I got a big kick out of your post. LOL! It cracked me up. Especially the part about getting advice from farmers. Where do you get your pellets, I mean what form do them come in, and are they from a pet store?

 

[aggiemae]

It's called "Crown Animal Bedding" It's 100% recycled and comes in 40 pound bags. They look just like the wood pellet we use for our BBQ/smoker.

We are a weekend "on call" rescue for injured strays for two counties and get basic supplies for free so I didn't know the cost. I called two area farm stores that are opened on Sunday, one sells it for $9.00 a bag and the other (the 'fancy/hip' store) charges $20.00! So it's probably best to shop around.

We use it for bedding and for kitty litter too. It's very absorbent but if I ever finish the coop I will put an inch or so of "Stall Dry" under it as a base on the coop floor which should reduce dampness in the closed coop to zero.

 

[ChicKat]

Thanks for the info.

 

[janeken]

I like this idea best, thanks

 

[BeulahBreezes]

I've used the pine shavings from day 1 with my chicks! Never a problem, very absorbant......they smell nice too!

 

[aggiemae]

I got a giant bale of pine shavings when we picked up the chicks because I thought they would like the softness but I noticed right away that the shavings seem to get stick to those wet stinky poops they make then immediately step into couple of times a day We tried to handle them daily so they would be used to us and got tire of washing their feet three times a day so I switched to the pellets. I guess I'll use the shavings up in the nest boxes.

 

[ChicKat]

That reminds me...when mine first started laying they went berserk and threw all the shavings OUT of the nest boxes...I think that if you are a chicken laying an egg, they are very prickly.

 

[Happy Henhouse]

What is "stall dry"? Sounds good. My chickens must have it!

 

[aggiemae]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It's finely volcanic rock that is used as bedding (or sub bedding) in horse stalls. Its very porous and absorbent so reduces moisture, ammonia and cuts down on flies.[/FONT] it costs about $15.00 for a 50 pound (?) bag. I use it because it works well with the paper pellets since it's heavy and sinks down so you don't really scoop much of it up with the cat litter scooper. It's good in covered runs too but could get pricey compared to sand or pea gravel However if you are willing to wash it is can be reused indefinitely and will last a long time. It does get very hot in direct summer sun which is something to consider.

There is another product called Sweet PDZ that controls odor better but it costs more.

 

[Happy Henhouse]

Hmmm, I'll have to think about all that. I think I'll stick to the pine shavings for now but may try the pellets down the road. This is the first I've heard of them. Thanks for the again for the info