How much bedding do you need?

[CrystalAnon]

You mentioned shredded newspaper , im not sure how your local newspaper does but our newspaper gives away the end rolls, no ink on them and we use our paper shredder. I use pine shavings and a mix in the laying boxes of shredded paper n shavings. I’m not real pleased with pine shavings. Can any of the natural cat litters work?

I’ve heard here some people use the horse stall pellets for under their bedding.
I just purchased some kitty litter yesterday pine pellets, to see if my cat will actually use them & we could get her that instead of traditional litter. My sister uses it with her cat & it doesn’t smell at all… just smells like pine, which is pretty cool.
Hopefully the chickens wouldn’t mistake it for chicken feed pellets.

 

[Ascholten]

I would not use kitty litter. They may mistake it for food and eat it and that would not be good for them.

 

[Ascholten]

While I would agree that in overly large amounts Chlorine Dioxide can cause neurotoxicity, otherwise, it's generally safe to use and it does appear that it's used as a disinfectant in poultry farming:

http://www.purewaterent.net/poultry-disinfection-chlorine-dioxide/

If they are using it for water disinfection, it's done way before it hits the birds generally, like your city puts it's chlorine in your water typically at the pump / well station.

If it was to be used to disinfect their living quarters, I am pretty certain the birds would be removed first, in doing it's job it releases chlorine gas which is very toxic. So if you were to spray it around a coop to disinfect it, it'd be no different than spraying bleach around as far as the fumes are concerned. NOT a good thing for your birds to be breathing in. if the birds did breathe in chlorine dioxide, it'd probably immediately break down in their airway into oxygen, and chlorine gas. the chlorine gas then, would go on to do it's damage to them. If it was to be used, the coop would have to be thoroughly ventilated before letting them back in.

when you look at some of the cleaning compounds that use ClO2, for room sterilization, it's basically let loose in the room and then SITS there for a number of hours to continue to do it's dirty work. Then the space is thoroughly ventilated to remove the fumes before re entry. Unless you were absolutely sure there is no more 'reaction' going on, with the stuff you sprayed into the coop, it could still be out gassing hours later, and if you let your birds in, they are in trouble.

aaron

 

[Kanekoded]

If they are using it for water disinfection, it's done way before it hits the birds generally, like your city puts it's chlorine in your water typically at the pump / well station.

If it was to be used to disinfect their living quarters, I am pretty certain the birds would be removed first, in doing it's job it releases chlorine gas which is very toxic. So if you were to spray it around a coop to disinfect it, it'd be no different than spraying bleach around as far as the fumes are concerned. NOT a good thing for your birds to be breathing in. if the birds did breathe in chlorine dioxide, it'd probably immediately break down in their airway into oxygen, and chlorine gas. the chlorine gas then, would go on to do it's damage to them. If it was to be used, the coop would have to be thoroughly ventilated before letting them back in.

when you look at some of the cleaning compounds that use ClO2, for room sterilization, it's basically let loose in the room and then SITS there for a number of hours to continue to do it's dirty work. Then the space is thoroughly ventilated to remove the fumes before re entry. Unless you were absolutely sure there is no more 'reaction' going on, with the stuff you sprayed into the coop, it could still be out gassing hours later, and if you let your birds in, they are in trouble.

aaron

Regardless of the fact that it's deemed safe in small amounts and is used in poultry (and livestock) farming as a disinfectant, I still wouldn't use it on or around my own flock simply because it didn't pass the "rat" test.

In rats, chlorine dioxide gas altered the structure of blood cells and prevented DNA formation in several organs. The changes in blood cells caused mild hemolytic anemia, a condition in which blood cells are destroyed and removed before their normal lifespan is over. Additionally, an oral dose of 14 mg in rats damaged proteins in their brain cells, demonstrating a potential for neurotoxicity. Makes me wonder if it could wreck similar havoc on chickens over time with continued use...? In MY OWN MIND, I'd think it's possible, which is why I'd personally choose not to use it on or around my chickens.

So to an extent, I actually agree with you but that doesn't mean I think @CrystalAnon is doing anything wrong.

With that said, we need to accept that other people are going to choose to do things differently and "differently" doesn't always equal "wrong."

Take a deep breath.

 

[CrystalAnon]

Unfortunately as we have found with the covid garbage, governments and the so called 'experts' will willingly lie to you as well... to push an agenda. So who can you trust anymore? THAT is the million dollar question.

Aaron

100% agree with you. I think we should all have a healthy skepticism about everything we read from those sources.
Amen!

 

[dirkandlorie]

Yes! Exactly what I was thinking. It hurt my fingers pretty good… almost like bruising on my finger pads… just when I was working with it to get it tight over the cattle panels for the hoop run! I couldn’t wear gloves because I had to get a good grip on it & I couldn’t with 1/2”x1/2” holes in the hardware cloth.
I can’t imagine wanting to try & scratch on a surface like that. Or walk all day on it.
Thank you!

When you use hardware cloth underneath you use thick thick thick layers of bedding on top. Chickens don't walk on it or scratch down to it. Mine has hardware cloth 3 feet down, then cinder blocks on top of that, then bedding. Nothing ever digging up through the bottom to get my babies, and when it rains torrentially the water just runs through those cinder blocks and my coop and run are as dry as can be. We added the cinder blocks a couple of years ago when climate changed around here. Cheaper than moving whole coop to higher but hotter ground, and I feel like they're even safer than they were before. A skirt is a lot cheaper and easier but no guarantee that something can't get in.

 

[TXKukupantsKoop]

I am an obsessive coup cleaner. What I do to cut down on the amount of bedding I use is spreading towels (chicken coup only towels) over the bedding before the chickens go to roost in the evening. I pick up these towels in the morning after everyone is out and put the poop in the compost pile and bring the towels in and put in a chicken towel only basket and do a load of laundry every couple of days to clean for reuse. My coup stays perfectly clean and I only have to worry about an occasional poop from a gal going in to lay or if broody momma takes her brood inside to get out of the wind.

Once every couple of weeks, I clean the bedding out, put it in the compost pile, clean the coop floor and roosts with vinegar/water solution. No problems with bugs to date and the ammonia does not have a chance to build up b/c no waste to degrade.

Have fun with your chickens!

My coop is 12x16 with a loft so it's BIG! I have an L-shaped roost so they only go on that at night. I put on my headlamp, mask, and disposable gloves and pick up the poop off the top of the bedding every morning. Takes 10 minutes tops. The ladies go in the coop just for egg laying and leave no poop during the day in there. I have about 8-10 inches of the pine shaving bedding. Makes it very cushy for them when they fly off the roost. No smell whatsoever in my coop/runs. I use a dog pooper scooper a couple times a day for the outdoor runs. I love my ladies...they're so spoiled. Lol!

 

[CrystalAnon]

Im in Nebraska, Sand bedding is too damp ALL THE TIME. ESP. in winter. All my coops are 8x6 or bigger and they free range the acreage. I use Deep litter..most of my coops are rock, then hardware cloth, then 6-12 inches of dirt. I lay pine needles, covered with dry leaves. As that break down, I add dried grass, then more leaves. These things are all free and readily available. I've even been known to hi-jack neighborhoods for there bags of leaves! It's a standing joke..and people will text me pictures of # leafporn! With addresses ! I clean out before cold temps starts..In winter as it starts to compost I first add shredded paper..it absorbs A lot of the moisture. Then, I turn it and layer everything through out the cold months. It's often -10 to -20 here and I've never had issues. My coop is cozy and I only clean twice a year. When I Clean in spring, most of the bedding is already composted so it can go right in the garden.

You got your system down!!
Nice

 

[FunClucks]

Yes! Exactly what I was thinking. It hurt my fingers pretty good… almost like bruising on my finger pads… just when I was working with it to get it tight over the cattle panels for the hoop run! I couldn’t wear gloves because I had to get a good grip on it & I couldn’t with 1/2”x1/2” holes in the hardware cloth.
I can’t imagine wanting to try & scratch on a surface like that. Or walk all day on it.
Thank you!

I use needle nose pliers or wind pieces of wire into the hardware cloth to grip mine. Also, I use the back end of the needle nose pliers to scoot the hardware cloth over - the handles stick through the holes, and are more durable than my fingers.

For gloves, I use gardening or work gloves with the sticky neoprene/rubber coating. Gives me a good grip, and the glove is thin enough to work with. Not sure what type of glove you were using, but if you can't get a good grip on the hardware cloth, your glove type is wrong, and you may need some tools like I mentioned. 19 gage or the type of wire you use to tie chain link fence to the poles could give you some good loops/handles to maneuver the hardware cloth.

 

[CrystalAnon]

I use needle nose pliers or wind pieces of wire into the hardware cloth to grip mine. Also, I use the back end of the needle nose pliers to scoot the hardware cloth over - the handles stick through the holes, and are more durable than my fingers.

For gloves, I use gardening or work gloves with the sticky neoprene/rubber coating. Gives me a good grip, and the glove is thin enough to work with. Not sure what type of glove you were using, but if you can't get a good grip on the hardware cloth, your glove type is wrong, and you may need some tools like I mentioned. 19 gage or the type of wire you use to tie chain link fence to the poles could give you some good loops/handles to maneuver the hardware cloth.

Great suggestions! Thank you.
I just had my garden gloves, but they don’t have any rubber on them. I have some of those gloves with the blue rubber fingers on them. I didn’t even think of them!
Next time.
Thanks again!