Homegrown Bedding

[Sally PB]

So far, all my wood chips have gone to the garden, and probably will for a while yet. I put lots of raked up leaves in the run this fall. For the coop, I've bought three bales of pine shavings from TSC, and 1 bale of hemp, which was $33, so not cheap. I will probably get another bale of hemp. I like the mix. The pine shavings are springier, which I think helps with the chickens getting a soft landing when they jump down from the roost.

 

[ChaskaE]

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...

Thank you, I was looking at them last night!

At this point I'm trying to find a use for the many cords of cut wood that's been building up on the property (besides just burning or dealing with selling[Darn peoples on my properties and in my yaaaahd!]) There's also a couple of decades of over growth.

If I can be industrious and self sufficient about bedding I will however buying proper bedding is fine by me too.

 

[ChaskaE]

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.

That sounds like a very efficient lay out of bedding. I love a good tip! You clean up the hemp often and the rest you refresh as needed(or throw in as it's gathered)? Maybe deep bedding? Im a noob so thank you for your patience!

 

[alwaysthere4chickens]

I wonder if you could use sunflower stalks for bedding.

 

[rosemarythyme]

That sounds like a very efficient lay out of bedding. I love a good tip! You clean up the hemp often and the rest you refresh as needed(or throw in as it's gathered)? Maybe deep bedding? Im a noob so thank you for your patience!

We were all noobs at one point.

For the hemp, I sift out poop daily (the poop it goes to my compost bin, so that's the big reason why I switched from using wood chips under the roost, because poop doesn't clean up as easily/cleanly) and my plan going forward is to simply refresh the hemp as needed.

Outdated photo, but it's hemp now in the section under the roost (at the time I had fine wood chips - too dusty!)



The wood chips inside the rest of the coop I clean out twice a year (the chickens rarely poop in the rest of the coop), and to make it quick and get double use out of the material, I rake it right out the door and into the run, where it becomes part of the deep litter system there.

 

[ChaskaE]

I wonder if you could use sunflower stalks for bedding.

I was wondering that too! My first batch ( 2 dozen) of sun flowers sprouted is part of what inspired this post!

 

[ChaskaE]

We were all noobs at one point.

For the hemp, I sift out poop daily (the poop it goes to my compost bin, so that's the big reason why I switched from using wood chips under the roost, because poop doesn't clean up as easily/cleanly) and my plan going forward is to simply refresh the hemp as needed.

Outdated photo, but it's hemp now in the section under the roost (at the time I had fine wood chips - too dusty!)

View attachment 2497166

The wood chips inside the rest of the coop I clean out twice a year (the chickens rarely poop in the rest of the coop), and to make it quick and get double use out of the material, I rake it right out the door and into the run, where it becomes part of the deep litter system there.

It seems you have a tried and true system, thank you for sharing it.