Need Advice on Litter

[jburd]

My chicks are growing up so fast and they are almost ready to move from the "big girl brooder" to The Coop! I am disappointed, however, with the bedding that I have chosen for their brooder. I started with a 3" layer of sawdust with a thick layer of straw on top . . . The sawdust in particular has been a royal pain to work with and I think the chicks are getting the sniffles from the it too :/. My original plan was to use the same system in my coop, but since it's not working very well in the small brooder I have my doubts for how it will do on a larger scale. I also love the idea of using composted litter in my garden, but the floor of the coop is made of 2 layers of particle board so I'm not sure if mulch would work. If anyone has any suggestions/words of wisdom I would love to hear them! Thanks so much!

 

[gamebirdsonly]

Don't use straw. Go with pine beding

 

[jburd]

Cool! Are they Pine shavings like they sell for guinea pigs at the pet store?

 

[Mattemma]

Yes they are like the GP shavings,but I have found the ones sold at the feed stores are way more ground/dusty than the pet store shavings. I love the fluffy shavings they sell at walmart in the small packages.That is the best for nest boxes. I use the cheaper feed store stuff for the floor.

 

[jburd]

Cool! Thanks so much! Do you think the mulch is not a good idea, or probably just stick with pine shavings? Can I use the shavings for anything in my garden? Thanks again everyone!

 

[Fred's Hens]

I'll vote a different way. Wood shavings are fine, if somewhat pricey. We've used lots of them through the years. They also take a bit longer to break down in the garden.

We love straw. Not hay, but straw. Pristine, clean, yellow straw. The chickens love it, and it works wonders in the garden. Just a differing point of view.

 

[crystal195655]

I use Pine wood shavings in the coop and in the run I have spread out straw to help keep the mud situation down...it works great for me. I do think the pine shavings will take a little longer to compost, but all in all it's a great bedding in the coop. I use the deep litter method and I have NO smell in my coop what so ever! I start out with about 3" and add to it when needed. You need to keep it stirred up or sprinkle some scratch on the top and let the girls do it for you....lol I only clean ou the coop 2 times per year. Under the roost I have some sand and Sweet PDZ, makes it easy to clean the poop! It like cleaning out a cat litter box and only takes me about 10 minutes every couple of days or once per week. and like I said NO SMELL!

 

[Dee Dee 2]

re: coop litter, i still like the pine pellets. chicks won't try and eat them, really keeps odor down. I appreciate the persons comment about using the Sweet PDZ under roosts. Great idea !

 

[aggiemae]

I find that saw dust and wood chips end up getting really stinky really fast. The pine chips in the brooder smelled great when I laid it out but it reeked in 48 hours and the chicks seemed to alway have litter and poop stuck to their feet.

I switched to an inch or two of (recycled) paper pellets over a 1/2 lair of stall dry. I just scoop out the poop which is easy to spot in the dark green pellets every morning. It takes about two minutes. There is no odor at all and I haven't changed the litter in over three weeks, though I do add more to replace what I scoop out with the poops. But even better, no more poopy feet to deal with. The stuff we buy is called Crown Animal bedding and it's about $8.00 for a 40 pound bag at our local feed store.

I am going to give coarse sand a try in the run which should be finished in a few weeks and if it works out I might try it in the coop but I am wondering if sand will make to coop too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.

 

[aggiemae]

Can I use the shavings for anything in my garden?

Yes but unless you really work your compost pile shavings do compost slowly. I try to layer shavings with grass, shredded paper (and paper pellets) chicken poop and kitchen waste but these days between the worm bin and the chickens I never seem to have enough kitchen waste. It was about 65 degrees and partly cloudy but our compost bin was STEAMING HOT today.