Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[aart]

I have been using TSC shavings for 3 years, never had a problem with them, never had any that were wet....
.........but I don't use them for a composting deep litter, but as dry litter inside coop and totally changed out once a year.

Tried composting old coop shavings in a bin, but didn't break down worth beans.....
.......am going to throw them out in the auxiliary run this year - today in fact.

 

[chickflick]

Last time I bought shavings for TSC they were also wet.. Not happy. But with all the rain we were getting, I guess it's understandable.

Hi John. Nice to see you again!

 

[aart]

Chicken Coop Bedding Totally Changed Out - CHECK!
Was easier and faster than I thought it was going to be, not quite as dusty as I had feared either, still wore serious dust mask most the time tho.
Chickens are afraid to come back into coop, the 3 I chased in is 'hiding' out up on the roosts.
They will NOT touch those things on the floor....Hahaha!
Hope they go back in at dusk to roost, could be a Chicken Rodeo.

 

[lovechicks1293]

Chicken Coop Bedding Totally Changed Out - CHECK!
Was easier and faster than I thought it was going to be, not quite as dusty as I had feared either, still wore serious dust mask most the time tho.
Chickens are afraid to come back into coop, the 3 I chased in is 'hiding' out up on the roosts.
They will NOT touch those things on the floor....Hahaha!
Hope they go back in at dusk to roost, could be a Chicken Rodeo.

happy that cleaning wasn't as terrible as you expected! i hope you can wrangle the rest of them chickens in!

 

[A2Kzoo2]

I've been using shavings for a while, but you are right, some TSC's store their bales outside and they get wet. I get it from the local feed store and haven't had any problems. I pile it pretty deep in the coop, mainly for insulation, and keep adding to it every week or every other week. Then twice a year move it all out to the runs, where it composts thoroughly. Just before moving the shavings from the coop to the run, I dig out the last 6 months of composted material (which includes the coop material, shavings I add through the 6 months, manure the chickens add and any kitchen scrap the chickens don't eat). That goes into the gardens in fall and early spring. Seems to work pretty well. The runs get more moisture to add in the composting process and the chickens do a pretty good job of turning it for me. I'll also never need to buy another tomato plant. I just choose which opportunistic plants to keep and they seem to be healthier than any I have ever bought (the seeds seem to survive anything).

 

[uchytil]

FF&H changed awhile back and went to their own brand of wood shavings. I bought their "other" brand for years and now their "own" brand. The newer large flake seems dustier. Anyway, we use pine shavings and they are very dry at first. They absorb liquid well. But, we change ours weekly rather than deep bed. I deep bedded turkeys a few years ago in straw and they stayed dry as a bone all winter with no cleaning. I think there are quite a few variables that contribute more than pine or straw such as ventilation, floor substrate, coop temp, # of birds per sqft, etc. I've had success with both.

 

[1muttsfan]

I also deep litter bed for 2 years, and I've never seen any mold growth inside my coop, including the wood floors and wood walls underneath the bedding.

The problem with TSC shavings is that they are now stored outside, and often wet if you're not careful about picking your bags.

 

[meltel]

Great tips. I have to change mine out. Going fora combo for wood shavings and straw-we shall see. and good morning all

 

[SunshineMary]

I have bought pine shavings from TSC and never had an issue with wetness or molding. However, I just don't like their pine shavings as well as other brands.

My current method is similar to A2Kzoo2's. I put down a few inches of FF&H or Dexter Mill pine shavings. Every few days after that I sprinkle a fresh layer of Koop Klean, which is chopped straw and sweet PDZ.

After a couple of months, I take all the bedding out of the run and spread it around my fruit and nut trees for mulch. Then I pitchfork and rake all the bedding out of the coop into the run. And I start over with a fresh layer of pine shavings in the coop. So far this seems to be working OK for us. Once we are in the depths of winter, however, I probably won't change out the bedding until spring. I'll just keep putting down fresh layers of Koop Klean.

 

[aart]

The problem with TSC shavings is that they are now stored outside, and often wet if you're not careful about picking your bags.

Ahh...Guess I'm lucky that the TSC here keeps them inside.