Pitmoss roost

[talkinboutchickens]

They can just read your thread as the first person I see who replied was me.

Perfect

 

[paintedChix]

Interesting product. I REALLY wish that would have stated or shown how they get from those bales of paper products to their product that they say is 4x better (more absorbent, longer lasting). For our situation(s), more costly than I can justify.

Me, i like "free" or as low priced as possible and can use /reuse products... To that end, I have my own shredders & i shred paper, news paper, phone books, junk mail, boxes that snacks come in & cardboard board. LOTS of cardboard.

I've combined that w/ leaves, hay/straw, wood mulch/chips, lots of weeds around our property & pinestraw.

My shredder prep - from this -





To this ready to take to raised beds & coop pens -



The shredder in this photo is more than 15 yrs old & has been heavily used since 2016. I think during this run of pictures above, I missed one of the large 1-1/2" copper or brass staples. The blades caught it just right - i was able to back the cardboard up & pull it out to remove staple. However, it seemed to "skew" the blades. I haven't been able to fix it & turns out neither do any office supply places. The couple ofthrift stores I went to didn't have one... I'm still working on that, but Larry purchased a new one for me. The shredding I've already done has paid for itself, though it cost considerably more than the 1st one.

 

[Kiki]

I've never seen this product on here.
Looks mighty expensive, with probably false claims.

Agreed

 

[perkolator]

That Pitmoss product looks nearly identical to blow-in cellulose attic insulation, which is basically just shredded newsprint paper and cardboard

 

[paintedChix]

Bet the attic insulation is less costly...

 

[perkolator]

Bet the attic insulation is less costly...

It's about $19 for a 25lb bale, which expands to around 10 cu/ft

Did a little more research into the PittMoss product - looks like it is indeed shredded recycled paper. Was invented as an alternative to peat moss and there are different blends according to the product (additives like: coco fiber, perlite, pine bark, etc). The "Pitt" in the name refers to where it comes from, Pittsburg; similar to how "Milorganite" fertilizer is named after Milwaukee Sewage District - the source of that fertilizer (yep, human waste from the sewer treatment plant).

 

[aart]

Bet the attic insulation is less costly...

No doubt, but could also contain things like fire retardant.

 

[Penpal]

I got two 40 pound bags of "Energy Pellets of America" bedding pellets. This covered an area 6.5' x 3'

It is made from wood pallets. It is for cows and horses, so I guess it should be able to handle three small chickens. One bale of straw can handle the chickens (outside, more than three) all winter, so this was more than twice as expensive than straw. We'll see how it manages.

 

[jbreeden00]

Here's my pine pellet thread

Thank you! Im gonna do pine pellets.

 

[BuffBrahmaBantams]

A way cheaper option is pine pellets; although I've never used pine pellets, they seem like they would be a similar consistency to the cardboard fibers once wetted down. I wouldn't wet them down though. And they can go in the compost. Plus a 40 lb bag of pine pellets at TSC which costs $7.49 is 10 cents cheaper than their pine shavings!
@Debbie292d knows a lot about using pine pellets!

I use pine pellets all the time, they can last from several weeks to a month, they absorb the moisture really well and they barely smell, the chickens seem to like a d don’t have a problem with mistaking it for food(which is a common complaint