Horse pellets for run

[M_Struna]

I’ve tried to do deep litter in my covered run but my girls have dug up the dirt underneath to the point the substrate seems to be more dirt than hemp. In addition, we’re having some wet weather and the mixture seems damp. I think the ground gets saturated and seeps into the dirt in the run. I turn everything over daily to try and keep it aerated but I’m concerned with the dampness. Should I add horse pellets? If so, how? Do they need dampened if there’s not a considerable amount of moisture. Of course I Googled it and AI scared the crap out of me by telling me my birds would get impacted crop from eating the pellets!!! Going to work on the run tomorrow and could really use some advice. Thanks!

 

[thecatumbrella]

One of my IRL chicken acquaintances uses horse pellets in her run, and she loves them! Several BYC'ers do as well. As for the chickens eating them, I'm sure they will. Have grit cups at the ready!

Also, and this might work against any sort of "deep litter", but mixing a bag of PDZ into my run's substrate makes a difference in how quickly things dry out.

 

[WingItRanch]

I've used it in my run and have never had any issues with impacted crop. A couple of them picked up one of the pieces and realized it wasnt food and spit it out. They're bigger than typical feed and they smell very much like pine and not at all like food.

I take a bag and dump some of it if I've had some sideways rain make a puddle in the run. I dump it right into the puddle and the pellets soak the water up amazingly and make a nice fluffy sawdust.

I wouldn't add any water if you've already dealing with moisture. That would kind of defeat the purpose. Just spread the pellets out sparingly and it will soak up any moisture.

It shouldn't mess with your deep litter attempt since it's just brown material. As long as your green and brown are balanced and the moisture is under control.

 

[M_Struna]

One of my IRL chicken acquaintances uses horse pellets in her run, and she loves them! Several BYC'ers do as well. As for the chickens eating them, I'm sure they will. Have grit cups at the ready!

Also, and this might work against any sort of "deep litter", but mixing a bag of PDZ into my run's substrate makes a difference in how quickly things dry out.

Do you have a dust issue with the PDZ? I mixed it with chicken sand on the droppings board in the coop and the dust when I did my daily cleaning was bad. I stopped using it and started adding coffee ground bedding. A little goes a long way and it smells great.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Do you have a dust issue with the PDZ? I mixed it with chicken sand on the droppings board in the coop and the dust when I did my daily cleaning was bad. I stopped using it and started adding coffee ground bedding. A little goes a long way and it smells great.

It's definitely dusty when I first spread it around (so I'll do it with the chickens out of the way), but once it's mixed into something with any amount of moisture, it sort of disappears.

Lucky you with the coffee bedding! I can't source it in my area.

 

[SourRoses]

As someone in a very wet climate I want to caution against using the pellets anywhere that is too wet.
I love the pellets for the coop. And a damp area is something they can handle no problem.
But I have had the pellets in the rain before, and they can mold like any other organic media.
The concern for me in a run is that some pocket of wet pellets turned into damp pine dust could get buried under a layer of dirt... then sit and mold for a month before a chicken digs it back up again. *Mold spores up every nare / nose*
If the quantity of pellets you use can dry things out sufficiently, and it doesn't get wet again too soon after, then the pellets can be a huge help.

Climate matters. The drainage of your run matters.
Like materials work better together. For instance, our native sand works great in the runs because it's sitting on dozens of feet of sand beneath it, so it can keep draining down. Sand moves moisture down, not up for evaporation, which is why many people struggle with it and others adore it.
If you're in a forested area, bulky wood chips work great. Lots of pockets of air in between to keep things drying out, and chickens actually help by kicking it around.
For clay, the most challenging, your best bet is probably to dump a lot of gravel, from large grade at the lowest layer, to pea gravel up the top, then whatever bedding you like on top. But that might only be possible during the construction phase?

 

[Debbie292d]

Of course I Googled it and AI scared the crap out of me by telling me my birds would get impacted crop from eating the pellets!!! Going to work on the run tomorrow and could really use some advice. Thanks!

That's AI for you.

If you have chickens, you soon find out they won't eat what doesn't taste good to them. Pellets don't taste good to them. We've used them for a decade for our show-quality silkies and most recently in the brooders. The baby chicks of course find a small morsel and will eat it, just like they'd do to pine shavings or anything else laying around. They soon learn that it was gross. In a decade of using horse bedding pellets, we've never had a problem.

That said, I'd not use them in a run unless it's covered, as otherwise they'll get rained or snowed on, and you'll wind up with beautiful dustless sawdust with about 1/4 of the absorption properties. If you use them, the vast majority of us do not wet them first, as that defeats part of the purpose, absorption.

 

[Debbie292d]

I've used it in my run and have never had any issues with impacted crop. A couple of them picked up one of the pieces and realized it wasnt food and spit it out. They're bigger than typical feed and they smell very much like pine and not at all like food.

I take a bag and dump some of it if I've had some sideways rain make a puddle in the run. I dump it right into the puddle and the pellets soak the water up amazingly and make a nice fluffy sawdust.

I wouldn't add any water if you've already dealing with moisture. That would kind of defeat the purpose. Just spread the pellets out sparingly and it will soak up any moisture.

It shouldn't mess with your deep litter attempt since it's just brown material. As long as your green and brown are balanced and the moisture is under control.

I should have read this first as I pretty much said the same thing.

 

[thecatumbrella]

I should have read this first as I pretty much said the same thing.

Hey, I like when multiple people are saying the same thing. That usually means it’s solid advice!

Also, where is everyone getting these responsible chickens that won’t gorge on non food items? All of my birds have been shameless with eating mulch/wood/hardware/etc.

 

[M_Struna]

It's definitely dusty when I first spread it around (so I'll do it with the chickens out of the way), but once it's mixed into something with any amount of moisture, it sort of disappears.

Lucky you with the coffee bedding! I can't source it in my area.

Thank you so much for the info. I’m feeling better about the pellets. And I’m glad you mentioned ‘sparingly’ because that was a question I had. I may add some PDZ in with the pellets today to cover my bases.

We are lucky. We have fairly quick access to TSC, Family Farm & Home and Rural King. The coffee bedding is at Rural King and the Premium Chicken Sand is at FF&H, making them much more cost-effect to buy than online.