I’ve used pellet bedding before and had the same thought. It really does look like chicken feed at first glance. My girls pecked at it a little when I first put it in the coop, but once they realized it wasn’t food, they left it alone. I’ve never seen them actually eat a bunch of it.
What I like about it is how it turns into soft sawdust once it gets a little damp or they scratch it around. It soaks up moisture really well and doesn’t kick up much dust.
For a 4x6 coop, one 40 lb bag should be enough for one solid layer or a couple of light cleanouts, depending on how thick you go.
If you’re still curious, I found this blog pretty helpful when I was looking into it:
https://www.kwmach.com/blog/horse-bedding-pellets
It’s mainly about horses, but a lot of the info works for chickens too
Hope that helps!
) I did a deep clean of the coop today. I sifted through all of the bedding with my litter scoop and put it in a trash can. Then I sprayed/washed down the coop and lined the bottom with fresh trash bags. I put the new bedding in and it’s good as new!! From what I can tell I think the bedding will last a year total before I replace it. I don’t feel like it is dirty or needs to be replaced after seven months. That is the longest I’ve ever gone without completely replacing the bedding. While deep cleaning the coop makes me happy, I have been more busy lately so I do like not cleaning the coop as often as I used to. Also, with it lasting this long that will make a huge difference on my budget!! Filling up the coop only took two bags, $15 total, and I’m expecting it to last a year!!! $15 a year on bedding is pretty darn good
