I know peat moss is the ethical evil of evils...

[Stina]

Here is some in the brooder I used for the first couple days...

closer shot...

and here is an image from petco's website of regular compressed bricks (the bales are much bigger)

 

[Ah Lian]

Hello! I am from Malaysia and I was very interested in hearing about the use of coir. I am surprised that people think it isn't eco-friendly. As far as I know, it is a waste product from coconut husks and reusing it is indeed eco-friendly. Perhaps there are other practices that I'm not aware of, but in Malaysia after coconuts are processed for oil, meat, coconut milk etc. there's lots of coir left over and it's used for all kinds of things like door mats etc. It used to be very cheap! Coconut trees also require far less fertilization and insecticides than other crops and they will naturally grow in sandy/salty soils. They produce coconuts over a very long life span.

If coir can be used for chicken coops that is very interesting to me!

 

[andalcam]

I am very new to raising chickens and have been using shavings. I do notice that my rooster eats the shavings sometimes. I never thought of trying peat moss. I can easily get that! I live right down the road from a peat farm and all the soil around the trees in our backyard is very peaty. I am sure my back yard is at least half peat moss. My chickens love scratching in the stuff. I find when it rains my back yard is a soupy mess. You can't even tell how wet it is until you put your weight on it and the water raises up over your shoes.

I might try it the next time I buy bedding.

 

[chickenmum]

Thanks, Stina!

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Although peat moss derives from sphagnum bogs, it is not at all the same as sphagnum moss (sphagnum is basically fresh; peat is long-decomposed).

People don't get sporotrichosis from PEAT. Just, occasionally, from fresh sphagnum.

Peat can be really really dusty, especially if it is allowed to dry out fully (because it does not re-wet well at ALL, so tends to stay fully dried out and dusty). I've worked with horse stalls in which it was used for bedding, and as long as the bedding was kept damp it was good if expensive -- but if it dried out, man, it was unpleasant...

Pat

 

[Davaroo]

Somebody already said it - just use sand or clean dirt. No worries about renewability and it is cheap, cheap, cheap.

If you dont like that, use fine leaves, grass clippings or shredded yard waste.

None of this stuff is as much fun to talk about, though. Coir?
Would've thunk it?

 

[Stina]

Sand doesn't control odor and isn't absorbant....
regular dirt is...well...dirty...lol If its gets wet it becomes mud, if its dry its dusty, and it makes everything dirty. I've kept mice on organic soil before and they always were just a little dirty...and it got EVERYTHING dusty...big time! I do not have that problem with coconut bedding. The coir bedding does have some dust, but it isn't dusty like "dirt" is dusty...it doesn't get everywhere. It doesn't get muddy when wet. Coir also has some antibacterial and antifungal properties. I occasionaly got mold when using soil.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
I'd debate the merits of sand with you. As for dirt, well... it's been used before to some good effect, although it isn't my first choice. I merely included it to get us thinking.
As for the others I mentioned, they are virtuous in that they are commonplace and cheap. Did I mention that already?

And there is my greater point. We should shy away from dependence on manufactured products for basic poultry care neccessities, like house litter. Especially esoteric items, like coir.

In truth, while it is indeed a byproduct, it is also a manufactured product which so happens to have natural origins. It must be heavily processed, transported, packaged, marketed.. well, it is certainly not energy efficient when compared to something like locally produced shavings or, say, grass clippings. I wonder how many petro-resources alone are involved in making it and getting it to you?

It may be intriguing as 'exotica', and it sounds like it offers some inherent benefits... if you live in Malaysia. In Kansas, it can hardly be called commonplace and I would be mildly concerned about supply continuity. There is no such bother with lawn shreddings.

And, of course, there is the extra cost incurred in it's use, when weighed against the other alternatives. I like the notion of it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to put it into my poultry care pipeline.