Homegrown Bedding

[ChaskaE]

My coops nearly done and the run is moving on. This will be my first coop and flock!

Is there anything I can grow to use as bedding? Any reading out there on it? I found this wonderful page about plants that chickens (and other livestock) need to avoid but it doesn't have a beneficial section.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I "grow" my own bedding in that I use wood chips from my own trees. Not quite what you're thinking of I'm sure.

I also source my litter for the run from my yard - wood chips again, as well as dried leaves gathered in the fall, dried grass from mowing in spring and summer, and garden trimmings.

 

[3KillerBs]

The loblolly and longleaf pines on my property provide a near-endless supply of pine straw that's free for the raking, but that's probably not what you were thinking of.

Growing your own grain to harvest the straw is probably more trouble than it's worth unless you have other uses for the grain and plenty of free labor from household members, but if you have a woodlot from which you regularly harvest firewood and use a chipper/shredder on the small stuff you'll get a good supply of wood chip.

Also, if you have a lot of trees that drop leaves in the fall you can rake them up and store them -- running them through the chipper shredder to reduce bulk.

 

[ChaskaE]

I "grow" my own bedding in that I use wood chips from my own trees. Not quite what you're thinking of I'm sure.

I also source my litter for the run from my yard - wood chips again, as well as dried leaves gathered in the fall, dried grass from mowing in spring and summer, and garden trimmings.

It looks like I'll be investing in a woodchipper after all!! Who doesn't love a new toy? I have trees out the wazoo and about 4 decades of over growth.

With sourcing from your yard how much litter do you have to buy? (If any!)

 

[ChaskaE]

The loblolly and longleaf pines on my property provide a near-endless supply of pine straw that's free for the raking, but that's probably not what you were thinking of.

Growing your own grain to harvest the straw is probably more trouble than it's worth unless you have other uses for the grain and plenty of free labor from household members, but if you have a woodlot from which you regularly harvest firewood and use a chipper/shredder on the small stuff you'll get a good supply of wood chip.

Also, if you have a lot of trees that drop leaves in the fall you can rake them up and store them -- running them through the chipper shredder to reduce bulk.

It seems I'll have to go the wood chipper way. I have a decent stand of trees that shed left and right. They drop leaves in the fall so I should be alright.

Growing grain never was in my garden plans. How ever I have endless wheelbarrows of mugwort, jewel weed, and other volunteers. Rather than just ripping them up and burning I would reseed them. Mugwort seems iffy as a safe bedding. I was hoping there was some reading source out there on chicken positive plants.

 

[3KillerBs]

It seems I'll have to go the wood chipper way. I have a decent stand of trees that shed left and right. They drop leaves in the fall so I should be alright.

Growing grain never was in my garden plans. How ever I have endless wheelbarrows of mugwort, jewel weed, and other volunteers. Rather than just ripping them up and burning I would reseed them. Mugwort seems iffy as a safe bedding. I was hoping there was some reading source out there on chicken positive plants.

Bedding material needs to be dry -- the "brown" parts of compost.

I don't know anything about mugwort, but my chickens love fresh, green weeds as part of their diet and I always figure that anything that doesn't get eaten will join the bedding.

 

[ChaskaE]

Mugwort is a "weed". It could be one of the things your giving your chicken already!

Well I do understand dry bedding! Who likes soggy sheets?
I'm a botanist whos just getting into chickens. There's gotta be some over lap... We'll see!

 

[3KillerBs]

Mugwort is a "weed". It could be one of the things your giving your chicken already!

Well I do understand dry bedding! Who likes soggy sheets?
I'm a botanist whos just getting into chickens. There's gotta be some over lap... We'll see!

I don't know what everything I give them is, but their favorites are sourgrass/wood sorrel and false dandelion.

 

[Sally PB]

I got a wood chipper last fall. Do some research on them before you buy so you get what you need. Some are more for shredding leaves, some are tough enough to chip up 2 1/2" limbs. I got a DR brand, and it was close to $1000.

It takes A LOT of limbs to make chips to cover an area of any size. I look at downed wood as I drive along and think, hmmm... I could get another square foot of coverage out of that...

 

[rosemarythyme]

It looks like I'll be investing in a woodchipper after all!! Who doesn't love a new toy? I have trees out the wazoo and about 4 decades of over growth.

With sourcing from your yard how much litter do you have to buy? (If any!)

I buy chopped hemp specifically for use under my roost (due to the fact that it sifts well, is absorbent, and low dust), and aspen shavings for my nest boxes (I tried homegrown hay before and my chickens were eating way too much of it). I only started doing the hemp this past year.

One bag of hemp is like $55 but is enough to last probably 3 years or so for me. One bag of aspen shavings costs about $15, again about 3 years worth in one bag. So that's it as far as bedding that I buy. Everything else is wood chips and other stuff from the yard/garden. My coop and run combined is 20x25, so it saves a lot only having to buy a couple bags of stuff every few years.