Horse bedding pellets

[StinkyAcres]

Well, I'm afraid the pellet bedding is not for me and my coop. The main problem is when the chickens jump down from the roosts or nesting boxes they slide across the floor and their legs slip out from under them like they landed on marbles. In order to fix this I guess I would have to add a lot more which is expensive and will be too high and interfere with the doors. The pellets also seem hard on their feet and my ducks started eating them after they got wet.

I do think they would work well for a small coop with short or no roosts and doors that are raised well off the floor. But this is not going to work for me, sadly.

 

[Raubkatze]

I was using pelleted bedding. I already buy it in bulk for other animals I have, however I was finding with chickens I had a lot more waste and was going through bags like crazy. Switched to pine flakes and bags last much longer.

 

[StinkyAcres]

I was using pelleted bedding. I already buy it in bulk for other animals I have, however I was finding with chickens I had a lot more waste and was going through bags like crazy. Switched to pine flakes and bags last much longer.

How were they wasting pelleted bedding?

 

[avjudge]

Well, I'm afraid the pellet bedding is not for me and my coop. The main problem is when the chickens jump down from the roosts or nesting boxes they slide across the floor and their legs slip out from under them like they landed on marbles.

Yes, I do not like the texture straight out of the bag in a thin layer. However, I get around this by breaking it down to sawdust by slightly moistening it. For my 6’x16’ pigeon aviary I put down 2 bags which is a very thin layer but when I spray it with the garden hose and let it sit it fluffs up to an inch or two. It doesn’t feel wet even right after spraying (unless I overdo it), and as it sits it completely dries out.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Yes, I do not like the texture straight out of the bag in a thin layer. However, I get around this by breaking it down to sawdust by slightly moistening it. For my 6’x16’ pigeon aviary I put down 2 bags which is a very thin layer but when I spray it with the garden hose and let it sit it fluffs up to an inch or two. It doesn’t feel wet even right after spraying (unless I overdo it), and as it sits it completely dries out.

I would really prefer not to introduce any moisture into the coop. And I thought the point of keeping it in pelleted form was for the dry wood to be able to soak up as much moisture from the manure as possible. Doesn't seem easy to clean out after it has completely turned to dust either, especially on my wooden coop floors (I hope to put down vinyl someday).

 

[avjudge]

I would really prefer not to introduce any moisture into the coop. And I thought the point of keeping it in pelleted form was for the dry wood to be able to soak up as much moisture from the manure as possible. Doesn't seem easy to clean out after it has completely turned to dust either, especially on my wooden coop floors (I hope to put down vinyl someday).

If you do it when the weather is dry, you won’t even notice the moisture, and it should dry out completely soon enough.

And I find it is much easier to clean as sawdust than as pellets because the sawdust will filter through any sort of sifter. Of course that is more true in the cat boxes than in any of the barn uses, as there I use a manure fork which has widely-enough spaced tines that a pellet falls through easily. Of course, so do bird droppings (chicken and especially pigeon) unless they have caked together or in the winter frozen together.

I only clean where I have a buildup (under the roosts, every couple weeks), otherwise let the droppings mix with the dry bedding and clean the entire thing after some months (generally twice a year for the pigeons, after the winter for the chickens who then move out to an earth-floored coop that tends to be moved from year to year).

Edit: spaced tines, not space times

 

[Squawkers]

Pellets are in the coop! I was surprised by the chickens' reactions to them - they were scared of them! I think it's because of how noisy they are underfoot and the new texture. It took some time before they tried stepping on them. I'm sure they'll get use to it. I saw one hen taste a pellet then quickly spit it out, so they definitely know it isn't food.

View attachment 4059758
View attachment 4059759

Yay!!

 

[Squawkers]

I would really prefer not to introduce any moisture into the coop. And I thought the point of keeping it in pelleted form was for the dry wood to be able to soak up as much moisture from the manure as possible. Doesn't seem easy to clean out after it has completely turned to dust either, especially on my wooden coop floors (I hope to put down vinyl someday).

I thought that too, but I ended up wetting it and it’s amazing!

 

[Squawkers]

To give my update on the bedding,

I put the bedding in on March 10th and I haven’t changed it since. I went back and forth on wetting in but then finally decided to and in glad I did. Two bags filled up the coop perfectly. It was 3 inches deep with the wet bedding and my coop is about 6’x3.5’. It dried quickly and I have no worry about it adding moisture to the coop. My favorite thing is that it broke down to a sawdust texture and I can use a litter scoop to clean it out. I LOVE that. It makes my daily cleaning a breeze!! It’s been four months and I don’t feel the need to change the bedding anytime soon. It’s just as clean now as it was when I put it in.

This is to show how much it expanded when I added the water.

 

[McChooky]

How often should I clean the coop? I know a couple people here that use them only do it once a year. I’m a big neat freak and couldn’t do that. I’m thinking once every 1-2 months? Or is that overkill?

The size of the coop,number of chickens and design determines how often it needs 'cleaned'.If your coop has poop boards the poops faster to clean up They spend most of their time on the roost at night so the poop will be mostly under the roosting bars. The deep litter method is used in coops without a floor.
A small raised coop would be filthy in 2 months without cleaning but a large coop without a floor can go a year between cleaning if you keep adding fresh bedding on top and mixing it all up