Paper shreddings for coop floor / nest boxes?

[Don B]

I have ready access to shredded paper from my office. I started using pine shavings on the floor of the coop, but I had put the shredded paper into the nest boxes. It seemed to work fine there, so today, when I cleaned out the coop, I decided to go all the way with the paper. Has anyone else done this? Are there any reasons why I should not???

 

[MayberrySaint]

The paper works great in nest boxes, but it is not absorbent at all if you use it for bedding. I tried it and had a slick, sloppy mess after about a week.

 

[mdbucks]

I agree with Mayberry , I tried it in mine and it obsorbed nothing, I added wood shavings, and raked them in and the shreaded paper came out clean, but it sounded like a good way to go when I tried it, didn't think about putting it in nesting boxes, I may do that

 

[Poison Ivy]

I tried using it in my brooder box that lasted a day. It didn't do very good and it smelled bad. Might be good for nest boxes but I don't think it would do good on the coop floor.

 

[silkiechicken]

I agree, tried to use shredded paper for bedding but it was a mess and if it got wet, became all slimy.

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

When I was working, I had an endless supply of shredded paper. I made sure it didn't have any staples or plastic in it. (I had help from the people who did the shredding on this)
I used it in my brooder rooms.

I put plywood pieces down to put waterers & feeders on to help keep the paper out of them. I raised the waterers & feeders with bricks as the chicks grew.

All my brooder rooms have dirt floors, & the paper worked well for me. I fluffed it every couple of days and added more when needed.
Usually after about 3-4 weeks, I cleaned it out & put fresh in.

Once the chicks were feathered pretty good, I just cleaned it out & left them on the dirt.

I also used it in the nest boxes for the chickens & the rabbits. Since I don't have access to a large supply anymore, I use mostly hay in the boxes & my chicks have to deal with plain dirt from day 1.

I never had any problems with using it. I probably should add that my brooder rooms are a minimum of 10 ft. X 10 ft. The larger area may be why I didn't have a slimy mess. I also would clean out the wet paper around the waterers often.

Jean

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I use a lot of shredded paper myself. All office paper that's been put through laser printers or photocopiers. I spent some time reading MSDS sheet for the toners of the various machines and could not find anything to much concern me.

As nest box material I found it tends to pack down after awhile more than I like. I've been meaning to try mixing it with pine straw or hay to see how well it would work then. Last time I tried to do that though one of our pop-up storms popped all over me so I had to throw the paper in the box and make a run for it!

As litter in the roosthouse it works pretty well. Throw in five or six bags of paper with some scratch feed on top and the birds will spread it out. I like it best mixed with a little bit of leaves or whatnot. Once in a while throw some scratch on top of it to encourage the birds to keep it turned up and fluffy.

I've tried it in the henyard to, but once it's been rained on a couple of times and the birds have scratched through it all it disappears pretty fast. Helps bind up the manure, but I'd like something that lasts a little longer.

.....Alan.