Deep litter help

[Elmochook]

Pallet wood will either be Pressure Treated, or heat treated. Any pallet wood, or other trash wood (stickers and such) that I scavenge, I look for the HT labeling on it that indicates that the wood is heat treated. I leave PT wood behind. If you paint your PT wood, that will help to seal the chemicals in.

Well been wanting to coat them up in paint anyways lol... I shall add to the ridiculously long list of farm tasks.

 

[CorvusFarm]

Pine shavings don't compost well, and take forever to break down. My experience with shavings is that they mat just as bad as anything else, turning into a kind of brick my chickens won't touch. The straw might clump, but my hens definitely prefer it, especially in a large run. The bindweed seeds and other stuff in there is a favorite for them to scratch on, which leads them to the lower stuff where the bugs are.

YMMV, obviously.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

Well been wanting to coat them up in paint anyways lol... I shall add to the ridiculously long list of farm tasks.

Paint doesn't help seal in chemicals and insecticides from pallet wood. I've done some reading on pallet wood and how it's treated. VERY scary stuff.

Do you have any pine trees on your property? They're brilliant for chicken runs. I raked up a whole bunch and threw it in the run along with lots of leaves, and the chickens are blissed out. It mats together and helps droppings filter to the ground.

 

[pennyJo1960]

straw will eventually hold mold spores plain white shavings are the best sold at any farm store

 

[lazy gardener]

straw will eventually hold mold spores plain white shavings are the best sold at any farm store

Even shavings will hold mold spores. A well working DL in either coop or run is not an issue as far as mold goes. While some flock keepers like using shavings, I will only use them as a last resort. I find that they are far more likely to cause issues with ammonia build up than hay, straw, grass clippings or leaves.

 

[Elmochook]

Paint doesn't help seal in chemicals and insecticides from pallet wood. I've done some reading on pallet wood and how it's treated. VERY scary stuff.

Do you have any pine trees on your property? They're brilliant for chicken runs. I raked up a whole bunch and threw it in the run along with lots of leaves, and the chickens are blissed out. It mats together and helps droppings filter to the ground.

No, cedar trees are here. :/

I wont be reading about the dangers of pallet wood or i would have to destroy literally every bit of my 3 chicken areas... Ive also never seen anyone pecking the walls of the coops or the run.

 

[Elmochook]

straw will eventually hold mold spores plain white shavings are the best sold at any farm store

Im looking for free answers hopefully so buying chips isnt in the budget.

 

[Elmochook]

Even shavings will hold mold spores. A well working DL in either coop or run is not an issue as far as mold goes. While some flock keepers like using shavings, I will only use them as a last resort. I find that they are far more likely to cause issues with ammonia build up than hay, straw, grass clippings or leaves.

I wondered why mold was an issue in a run... They eat crap from under logs... Isnt that molds and fungus?

 

[pennyJo1960]

I wondered why mold was an issue in a run... They eat crap from under logs... Isnt that molds and fungus?

completely different breakdown

 

[Elmochook]

completely different breakdown

Care to elaborate?