Pellets or shavings? Why?

[HamsterStyle]

We are putting the finishing touches on our Coop. It is 4 foot by 8 foot and elevated off the ground. We put down linoleum in the coop for ease of cleaning and sweeping it out. We currently have our 12 chickens in a couple totes inside waiting to go out into their new coop. We use equine fresh pine pellets in the totes for their bedding. Is there an advantage to pellets or the shavings when we go into the big coop

? Is one better than the other or do they both have their perks and drawbacks?

 

[OnlyW0LF]

I prefer pellets because shavings get quite messy. Shavings can get real wet and wont dry as fast as pellets. So i recommend pellets. And thank god youre using pine, cedar can become toxic with urine.

 

[PirateGirl]

I go with shavings, but only because I get them free from a friend with a sawmill. One disadvantage I have found with shavings is that they are very dusty. I feel like I have to hold my breath or wear a dust mask when cleaning the coop or I will be sneezing all day.

 

[HamsterStyle]

One of my thoughts was that the shavings get wet and stay wet. I was thinking that if need be, you could mist the pellets with water to cut down on the dust for cleanup as they don't seem to get soggy like pine shavings would.

 

[PirateGirl]

I have never had a problem with shavings staying wet. They have lots of surface area and dry out quickly.

I also live in a dry climate, this could be a factor.

 

[uknotku]

I have always used the shavings, but just recently converted my ducks to the the horse pellets and they make a huge difference. I was considering giving up on the ducks before, but this stuff is amazing. I've went from needing to change the duck bedding every couple of days to every few weeks. It would probably last forever with chickens. I'll be converting them next. It is slightly more expensive, but you use so much less of it.

 

[paneubert]

When you all are talking about pellets, are you expanding them with some water like would be done for horses so they they take up a lot more volume than the compacted pellets? Or are you using them dry right from the bag and keeping them "pellets" forever?

 

[HamsterStyle]

We mist ours with water and it seems to help keep the dust down, but we have never saturated them enough to really get them to expand. Also, we are using them in like a 50 gallon tote basically for a brooder. Within a few days half of them are turned to dust from the chickens scratching around.

When you all are talking about pellets, are you expanding them with some water like would be done for horses so they they take up a lot more volume than the compacted pellets? Or are you using them dry right from the bag and keeping them "pellets" forever?

 

[uknotku]

The ducks do a pretty good job of wetting them down. I would think you would need to wet them some for the chickens.

 

[HamsterStyle]

So this brings up another question. Those of you that use the pellets? How much water do you use per 40 lb bag? Do you mix it in a wheel barrel or something and then let it dry out after it fluffs and then put it in the coop? Or do you put it in the coop mist it and rake it and stir it around?