Litter?

[Madcap621]

I've been sitting here looking at a bag of cross-cut shredded paper [documents, mail w/personal info, etc] and am wondering if it would be appropriate to use as bedding for my chicks? I use pine shavings, sometimes crumbled cobs + DE and the deep litter method for garden compost. Seems to me that shredded paper might be an OK addition?

 

[BWchicken]

I'm really not sure about the paper itself, but I would worry about the ink being toxic if they ate it? Chickens will eat anything, when mine were in the brooder they ate the paper towels I had in there. Sorry I'm not much help answering your question, hopefully someone more knowledgeable will have more info for you.

 

[felidaet]

I don't know if there is any harm in using the shredded paper. I personally would not use it. I think of how wet paper seems to stay wet for a long time and molds very quickly. It seems to me that it would be very messy. My experience with pine shavings is that they do not get moldy nearly as easily as paper. Wet paper either breaks down very quickly or balls up into a gooey mass. This does not happen with wood shavings.

In my brooder I use a couple of inches of wood shavings covered with a layer of paper towels. When the youngest chicks are a couple of weeks old I quit using paper towels. I changed the paper towels daily, sometimes more frequently.

 

[Madcap621]

Thanks. Both good points.

maybe I will just spread it as the first layer in my new raised bed. I understand that wet paper is a super deterrent to weed/grass re-growth

edited 4 sp

 

[mdbokc]

Our garden gurus here are pretty adamant about keeping newsprint that has color inks out of the garden area. Newsprint with black ink is fine.

 

[beaglex3]

we are just getting started on chick raising, with ours coming in 2 weeks. i do worm composting and have a shredder that i use for black newsprint and cardboard, which i mix together as worm bedding. would the mixture be a good litter for baby chicks and then when they grow up, chickens? i can add wood shavings if that would make it better. since we try hard to live by the 5 R's, i really want to use the materials we have available instead of buying more. also, i am cleaning up my gardens for spring and would like to make a pile of the dead perennials to use as deep litter when the chickens are old enough to be outside. would hostas, dried tall grasses and yucca leaves, etc. (chopped into smaller pieces) be a good addition?