New to chickens and started adding shredded paper to wood chips as bedding. Is this OK?

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:welcome

Your question made me curious so I did a quick search to see what others have said. Apparently using it in the coop or run is ok but it's not recommended to use in nesting boxes as it will stick to eggs badly. And it's not absorbent so it's good you're mixing it with other material, you wouldn't want newspaper to be the sole nesting material.

Best of luck, thanks for joining us!
 
Hi Carol and welcome to BYC :frow We're so happy you've decided to join us:ya

I add it to my compost pile and the girls are so happy to just turn it in. I had planned on using my compost in my garden until the girls discovered it. I used to hand turn it and had it about 5' tall, the girls have changed my plans. Next year I'm going to plant one of my gardens where the pile was and move it to somewhere I might like to plant in the following year. My 5' pile is now evenly spread across the whole area and only about a foot deep. Oh, and I no longer turn my compost as the girls are doing it for me.
 
CarolinaSunshineFlock said:
Well, if the chickens aren't eating the paper, it sounds like a good addition to your bedding.

Recycled paper is even used in toilet paper produced by Seventh Generation and other companies. I tried using compressed recycled paper pellets as kitty litter, but found pine shavings for horses to be a better and much more affordable option. I haven't yet called the company, though, to find out if the trees were felled for the shavings or if they're a byproduct of the lumber industry.

The recycled paper will also help bulk up the bedding for floor insulation. Does your shredder cut the paper into long strips or small pieces? And lots of people line their veggie garden beds with newspapers.

I think you're very clever doing this!
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We have a small one that cuts the paper in strips. They really like it in their nesting boxes because it's so plushy. I mix in wood chips too. Only problem I have is that it's so light that when I open the lid to the nesting box the wind sometimes blows it out.
 
rjohns39 said:
Hi Carol and welcome to BYC :frow We're so happy you've decided to join us:ya

I add it to my compost pile and the girls are so happy to just turn it in. I had planned on using my compost in my garden until the girls discovered it. I used to hand turn it and had it about 5' tall, the girls have changed my plans. Next year I'm going to plant one of my gardens where the pile was and move it to somewhere I might like to plant in the following year. My 5' pile is now evenly spread across the whole area and only about a foot deep. Oh, and I no longer turn my compost as the girls are doing it for me.
Click to expand...
Ha, my beautifully mounded compost pile is maybe six inches deep now. They've spread it all over, but I keep them challenged by adding more and more leaves and their own pine shavings from the coop. They get a little crazed if they don't get some compost time each day!
 
The shredded paper should be ok. But, I do recommend not using the DE if you are doing a true deep litter. The effectiveness of DE is a matter of much debate on here, but, if it DOES work, then it will be killing the good bugs and possibly microbes that you WANT living in your bedding, if it DOESN"T work, then it's just a lung irritating dust that no one should be living in.
 
Welcome Carol. Agreed with Kusanar re: DE. It's a known lung irritant. While it can be good for it's chemical content in the garden, I don't recommend using it in the coop. Save it to sprinkle around and on some of your garden veggies that get munched!

As long as you are sure there are no staples in your shredded paper, I think you've found a wonderful source of bedding for your DL. My DL is almost all made up of leaves, weeds, hay, and grass clippings in the coop. I put the occasional load of wood chips, hay, plus all yard and garden debris in the run, and old litter from coop gets pushed into run as well.
 

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