Sand instead of pine shavings as bedding?

[geareduplyn]

angels4 has the solution. IMO the wood pellets are the best thing for bedding/floor coverings period.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Honestly it sounds to me like you just need to alter your expectations about what a clean coop looks like

Especially if you are still wanting to go into organic farming or anything like that. Function matters, not appearance

If you are getting deposits of poop underneath the roost, you need a droppings board cleaned daily (or a wider one if you already have one). That helps a lot.

Sand is cold in wintertime. I'd say MD is probably sort of along the borderline of areas where it is/isn't a satisfactory year-round bedding.

Which is more cost-effective depends entirely on a person's local cost of shavings and of sand.

(p.s. if you want your chickens to fluff the bedding together and mix it up more, scatter some scratch across the floor while they're watching, that'll do it

)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

Henry - Investigate Deep Liter method. I add more shavings every other month or so and the girls and 2 boys keep the chicken house stirred up. And when I do clean it out, it is fine dirt (wood shavings compost). It also provides a naturally warmth in the winter (composting). I have people who take the stuff as soon as I get it out of the house. They use it in flower beds, etc. It is great for evergreens and other acid loving shrubs.

 

[hcammack]

Quote:
Honestly it sounds to me like you just need to alter your expectations about what a clean coop looks like

Especially if you are still wanting to go into organic farming or anything like that. Function matters, not appearance

If you are getting deposits of poop underneath the roost, you need a droppings board cleaned daily (or a wider one if you already have one). That helps a lot.

Sand is cold in wintertime. I'd say MD is probably sort of along the borderline of areas where it is/isn't a satisfactory year-round bedding.

Which is more cost-effective depends entirely on a person's local cost of shavings and of sand.

(p.s. if you want your chickens to fluff the bedding together and mix it up more, scatter some scratch across the floor while they're watching, that'll do it

)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

LOL I am getting more used to being dirty LOL I have done that and added some more shavings it looks like it is working very well they are mixing it up a whole bunch! I am really happy now thanks for all your help everybody.

Henry

 

[Sissy]

When you say scratch. are you refering to feed?
to toss in to the wood shavings?

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Not their regular feed, but, you know, scratch, scratch grains, whatever you want to call it - usually a mixture of cracked corn and wheat or other whole grains. I suppose anything else might do, too, i'ts just that scratch is what I've always seen recommended and thus what I use myself and thus what I can attest to actually working

And yup, just sprinkle a little bit across the shavings on the floor. The chickens will see what you're doing and go after all the little grains, scratching and mixing up your bedding quite nicely

Pat

 

[hcammack]

Since I added the extra light also they have more time in the morning when they are locked in the coop and they are really flinging the stuff around then!

 

[Sissy]

Pat, thanks,
also
I read somewhere
that barley was good but should it be cooked
like rice and given year round?

 

[Solsken Farm]

Henry. I have tried some hay/straw for the bedding to help them stay warm. It gets nasty very quickly. The only good part is that you can pitch fork out all the muck very easily, but honestly, for me shavings are the cleanest. Sand would not work for our coop.

I can't wait until you come back from the mountain school to teach us what you learn there in the Agro dept.

 

[hcammack]

Quote:
Will Do I am sure I will learn allot with that and working this summer at the farm. I will learn allot about cows, pigs, goats, and sheep.