Horse bedding pellets

[Squawkers]

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

That makes sense thanks!!

 

[StinkyAcres]

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.View attachment 4166781View attachment 4166782View attachment 4166783


This is to show how much it expanded when I added the water. View attachment 4166785View attachment 4166786

Hey @Squawkers , welcome back!! I'm glad the pellets worked for you. The pellets I put in my coop turned to sawdust faster than I expected, but I just cleaned it out and the inside of my coop was covered in a thick layer of dust. Not what I'm looking for, especially with an MG-positive flock.

 

[Squawkers]

Hey @Squawkers , welcome back!! I'm glad the pellets worked for you. The pellets I put in my coop turned to sawdust faster than I expected, but I just cleaned it out and the inside of my coop was covered in a thick layer of dust. Not what I'm looking for, especially with an MG-positive flock.

Thanks!! Glad to be back! Oh yeah I meant to mention that. That is the one negative that is slightly frustrating. It’s SUPER dusty. The filter on my exhaust fan was dark brown in one night.

 

[McChooky]

I found shavings absorb more moisture and makes the coop smells better but its not comfortable on the feet so Add a layer of shavings on top to fix this.You also need the mist the coop occasionally to keep the dust down

 

[Squawkers]

I found shavings absorb more moisture and makes the coop smells better but its not comfortable on the feet so Add a layer of shavings on top to fix this.You also need the mist the coop occasionally to keep the dust down

That’s a good idea!!

 

[McChooky]

That’s a good idea!!

I change my bedding once a year but clean the poop boards once every 2-3 weeks. I like the pellets breaking down into sawdust because they look so much nicer and they're soft.You want Sawdust if your chickens huddle on the floor in temps below zero

 

[Squawkers]

I change my bedding once a year but clean the poop boards once every 2-3 weeks. I like the pellets breaking down into sawdust because they look so much nicer and they're soft.You want Sawdust if your chickens huddle on the floor in temps below zero

Why is the sawdust better for the cold?

 

[McChooky]

Why is the sawdust better for the cold?

Sawdust gives off heat on a damp floor.My chickens love it.Edit:It traps heat sorry!

 

[Squawkers]

Sawdust gives off heat on a damp floor.My chickens love it

Thats interesting, I didn’t know

 

[chickenbreederinchina]

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!