CHICKEN BEDDING???

[Keliana]

I honestly feel like I should be a pro about everything chicken by now.
I love a clean chicken coop with dry as possible bedding.
The floor of my chicken house was once wood. It got change to concrete and I thought it would be much better. I was wrong to some degree.
I am cleaning every day still. I usually buy the large pine shavings which just clumps together and stick to the floor when they poop.
I am changing to small wood shavings on Tuesday to see if it will make a difference.
I am now keeping broilers and they poop more.
I put down a light layer of large pine shavings in the morning, then clean again in the evenings putting down a fresh light layer of shaving again.
I tried putting a deeper layer at some point and I still ended up cleaning the next day. The shaving stick in clumps and dont seem to soaking in anything. I have very good ventilation.
I am tired as heck.
Does anyone have any ideas about this shavings thing on concrete floor???

 

[chickenlittle21]

I use hay and straw for my chickens bedding

 

[Mamatomany123]

Have you considered poop boards? Much easier and faster to clean up every morning and the shavings underneath stay clean and dry.

 

[Keliana]

I use hay and straw for my chickens bedding

I do not have access to hay or straw but thank you for the suggestion

 

[black_cat]

I have used pine shavings without any problems. For me the poop doesn't really clump right that, and I have too small a coop (we're upgrading soon) for the number of hens I have. I have used the bigger pine flakes and the smaller, finer, shavings with good results.

 

[Buckeye Amy]

That's a tough situation. Broilers poop A LOT, but you know that already. It would be great if you could have them outside more, are they inside all day? The smaller shavings might help, or you could dry sand. I don't use it myself, but there are plenty of threads here that you can search to learn more about it.

 

[NatJ]

Depending on where you live--it's fall in the northern hemisphere, and lots of people rake up fallen leaves, put them in bags, and sit them by the curb for the trash company.

Those leaves can make fine chicken bedding.

They will tend to mat down in a flat layer if the chickens do not scratch them around enough. Broilers may not scratch enough.

But leaves matting down is fine: just add another layer of leaves each day, and clean the whole thing out with a pitchfork after you butcher the broilers. Because of the way they mat down, you can add a layer each day for quite a while before it builds up deep enough to be inconvenient.

Not the same as shavings, but another possible way of managing chicken poop.

 

[aart]

I honestly feel like I should be a pro about everything chicken by now.
I love a clean chicken coop with dry as possible bedding.
The floor of my chicken house was once wood. It got change to concrete and I thought it would be much better. I was wrong to some degree.
I am cleaning every day still. I usually buy the large pine shavings which just clumps together and stick to the floor when they poop.
I am changing to small wood shavings on Tuesday to see if it will make a difference.
I am now keeping broilers and they poop more.
I put down a light layer of large pine shavings in the morning, then clean again in the evenings putting down a fresh light layer of shaving again.
I tried putting a deeper layer at some point and I still ended up cleaning the next day. The shaving stick in clumps and dont seem to soaking in anything. I have very good ventilation.
I am tired as heck.
Does anyone have any ideas about this shavings thing on concrete floor???

How many broilers in how big a space(feet by feet)?
Do you also have layers in there?
Concrete can create condensation...more moisture could take up some of shavings absorption capacity.

Dimensions and pics of your set up would help here.
Also.....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[One Lucky Momma]

Do your birds spend all their time inside? At our place, poop outside is fertilizer that’s already been spread

I’m waiting to see what you say about how many birds in how much space. That’s key, but also, do you think your expectations are realistic? It’s not going to hurt your birds to live with a little bit of their own manure If things are dry and ventilation is good.

also, do is there a sawmill anywhere near you? They’re a great source for shavings at a good price (here, 15$ for a pickup load). I understand if you don’t have a pickup they’ll let you fill big garbage bags.

 

[Alaskan]

Concrete can create condensation...more moisture could take up some of sha

I wonder that too... is the concrete damp even without any poo being added?