Hemp bedding?

[Oodeldood]

Guys guys guys, tannins are there, I'm not a researcher. However, In the food supply pesticides in general are there, you know there there, however can you say there are any visible signs that you can point to among people that disregard the fact that they are there. Probably you can eventually. But it's not going to show up in big boils or something. I'm really not sure of your point. However my point may be explained in an anology. Perhaps in the rubber band theory. The theory is that if you were to put a rubber band around you, over your head and around your arms. Well after 1-2-3 rubbwer bands your probably going to be able to break free. However after 4-5-6 of continually adding rubber bands it's going to get harder and harder to overcome them....Are you adding to your exposure to things that are toxic, is the point, Hemp without Tannins pine with. There's a reason the queen of England and half of Europe uses Hemp for small and large animal bedding. It's fresher, it keeps a barrier of moisture below the bedding since Hemp is hydrophobic and it is 4-5 X's more absorbent and in essence less expensive in the long run for people that are not short sighted. this is my opinion in a public forum where people give their opinions for others to consider when making an opinion. I stand by my statements and make my own informed decisions based on years of experience and sharing with others their views and experiences. Peace

 

[aart]

Guys guys guys, tannins are there, I'm not a researcher. However, In the food supply pesticides in general are there, you know there there, however can you say there are any visible signs that you can point to among people that disregard the fact that they are there. Probably you can eventually. But it's not going to show up in big boils or something. I'm really not sure of your point. However my point may be explained in an anology. Perhaps in the rubber band theory. The theory is that if you were to put a rubber band around you, over your head and around your arms. Well after 1-2-3 rubbwer bands your probably going to be able to break free. However after 4-5-6 of continually adding rubber bands it's going to get harder and harder to overcome them....Are you adding to your exposure to things that are toxic, is the point, Hemp without Tannins pine with. There's a reason the queen of England and half of Europe uses Hemp for small and large animal bedding. It's fresher, it keeps a barrier of moisture below the bedding since Hemp is hydrophobic and it is 4-5 X's more absorbent and in essence less expensive in the long run for people that are not short sighted. this is my opinion in a public forum where people give their opinions for others to consider when making an opinion. I stand by my statements and make my own informed decisions based on years of experience and sharing with others their views and experiences. Peace

Hydrophobic means it repels water...so not absorbent.

The fact that it's even readily available (unlike in the US) and cheap in EU is why they use it there.
It is a viable bedding source, like hay or straw or most other dried plant materials.
But lets not give it magical attributes whilst damning the use of pine as toxic to justify said magic.

 

[debid]

Opinion = I prefer hemp bedding because I feel like there is less risk to my animals.

Fact = Hemp contains no tannins, pine contains tannins. Tannins are bad for animals at x exposure level. I don't know if there is enough tannin in pine to actually cause a problem.

If you choose to make factual claims, be prepared to back them up. Otherwise, stick to voicing opinion as opinion, not as fact without evidence. There is a difference.

 

[azygous]

Here's the science. A Cornell University study http://poisonousplants.ansci.cornell.edu/toxicagents/tannin.html on tannins says this about tannins and poultry :

In poultry, small quantities of tannins in the diet cause adverse effects.

• levels from 0.5 to 2.0% can cause depression in growth and egg production,
• levels from 3 to 7% can cause death.

How do you know something has a lot of tannin in it? The substance will be very bitter. Black tea has a lot of tannin content. Don't feed it to your chickens. They probably wouldn't eat it anyway 'cause it's so bitter.

Animals aren't going to ingest enough tannin to hurt them unless there's nothing else to eat. So, if you don't want your chickens to eat pine shavings, feed them.

 

[ChickenChaser9]

Lets be clear, the thread is not to discuss the viability of using pine shavings as bedding. EVERYONE knows pine shavings are pretty safe to use and does a good job for bedding. Thank you to everyone who pointed this out. Moving on. Hemp as bedding discussed here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/929111/hemp-bedding

And sold here https://www.americanhempllc.com/poultry-chicken-bedding

Hemp has a great many qualities many of which make it good for use as bedding and NONE of which are MAGIC, Aart.
Most of the benefits to using hemp are ecological. It takes 1 year to grow Cannabis and it is ready for harvest and use whereas it takes many years for a Pine tree to reach maturity. You can get more hemp from an acre of land than you can pine. Hemp will keep the coop dry and dust free, it is fine to use as nesting material but I would not use it in brooders when it is fine enough to be eaten by chicks.

 

[Oodeldood]

It is readily available in the US, it's used in Europe because it's more readily available. and it does have magical qualities. Naturally antimicrobial, 3 x's more absorbent than than hay/straw 2.5 x's more absorbent than woodchips. Completely safe and no dust. If you can use it. I'm not sure how much more magical you can get than that. 4 companies in the USA have it and one has eco friendly packaging. For my money and my chickens they get hemp. I got with www.hemp-solutions.org or their store on ecwid https://store5654096.ecwid.com/HEMP-ANIMAL-BEDDING-c23122023

It works it's superior and that's what I use. Simply put I have no fear of toxins in our coops.

 

[PD-Riverman]

Well, I prefer wire floor brooders which I have a dozen or more. I use pine flake shavings when I have the wire floor brooders full. So I guess most of my chicks I raise/sell are OK.

 

[debid]

"Readily available" from ONE source? Purina feed is "readily available", you can find it in just about any town with a farm supplier. One source is just "available".

 

[Oodeldood]

Prefer getting hemp from these guys who seem to not get it from China, which is known for using herbicides and pesticides - http://hemp-solutions.org/animal-bedding/

Hemp does have some qulaities that are worth noting, no magic just science. Hemp Hurd is Hydrophobic, meaning it hold but does not absorb liquid/water. Hemp Fiber does that meaning it's hydrophilic. So being hydrophobic hemp hurd (aka Shiv) when animals move around in it the water is released below the layer of hemp hurd which the chickens/animals benefit from since it creates an ammonia barrier below the animal. Besides it is virtually dust free. So since the two biggest health risks from using pine shavings are that you have to continuously add additional shavings to keep the ammonia fumes down and by doing so you add dust particulate into the air Hemp is in essence pretty magical since none of these problems are apparent by the farms that use it.

Seen by most to be excessively expensive however the costs are very close since the repeated supplementing of the bedding is not necessary with hemp, sequestering of fumes below and no dust present that makes the coop night in day not to mention the health of the chickens who do not experience either.

For our chickens we'll go with Hemp it's simply better. Oh I almost forgot, when the liquid moves to the flooring the hemp releases a fresh, can only describe it as a organic smell into the air. It's almost like magic!


Thanks for listening
Oddledood

 

[Merrymouse]

Well, that was quite the debate that started from a simple question from a curious newbie

No duct tape needed....it was a learning experience for all. If anything all the back and forth made me want to look into it further. Thanks all!