Sand vs shavings?

[yakitori]

Where do you get expanded pine pellets? I’m intrigued

lol, it’s pelletized pine bedding
I use the word “expanded” since a lot of people seem to like to use it as pellets rather than the way intended for horse bedding.

I usually sun dry mine after adding water, but I’ve also used it right after for a hospital brooder.
As for the hard pellets... I haven’t had experience with using it aside from kitty litter. But that’s a whole other system, and you can’t scoop poop out of it.

 

[yakitori]

I also cringe at the thought of having to open a roof and bend down to clean.

Me too! mine is at chest height and it’s perfect, lol. I built it into a tree, so I didn’t have to worry about materials for the base... I also made the floor boards free floating so that when I need to change everything out, I just need to put a wheelbarrow underneath, pull up the coop floor and have it self dump into the wheel barrow.

but It’s not going to happen anytime soon, I don’t see myself changing the bedding out for at-least another 6 months

 

[RevlisRemmah]

lol, it’s pelletized pine bedding
I use the word “expanded” since a lot of people seem to like to use it as pellets rather than the way intended for horse bedding.

I usually sun dry mine after adding water, but I’ve also used it right after for a hospital brooder.
As for the hard pellets... I haven’t had experience with using it aside from kitty litter. But that’s a whole other system, and you can’t scoop poop out of it.

It’s AMAZING. I have sand right now, which has been fine. No smell or anything but I scoop poop every day!!! I’m looking for alternatives!

 

[Nellzmom]

I’m currently using sand in my setup (4x4 coop over 4x8 run). I have 3 20-week old barred rocks. Food & water are kept in the run.

The run doesn’t smell & never has flies. It does get wet all the way through when we have a heavy rain, but I’ve been able to turn the sand and can keep it relatively dry and clean.

The coop, however, is another story. I have 4 foot x 2 inch eave vents on two walls, a window, the interior (app. 1.5x2 foot) chicken door stays open, and the 4x4 cleaning door has about 20 inches of vent. The coop sand stays bone dry. I scoop twice daily and it still smells. Not terrible, but it smells. I wonder if sand works better in really large coops and runs like the Chicken Chick has because it’s not working like I thought it would in my little set up?

I recently learned about hemp here on BYC and ordered a 33 lb bale. I added some to the coop sand and the smell went away. I’m planning on switching the run over to deep litter using shredded yard waste. I’m going to keep adding hemp to the coop so it will eventually be deep litter bedding.

Just chiming in since your proposed set up sounds similar to mine. Good luck whichever route you go. I hope to have some freeloader bantams too some day!

 

[yakitori]

It’s AMAZING. I have sand right now, which has been fine. No smell or anything but I scoop poop every day!!! I’m looking for alternatives!

You can try it! I do recommend it as an alternative to sand. It’s also cheap enough to experiment with, and if you don’t like it? just toss it in the garden bed, lol.

Because it’s pine, It works great as a deep litter, if you’re lazy, just mix the poop in and only scoop once in a while. or if your birds are active in the coop (mine only use theirs for sleeping) they’ll scratch it in for you. Make sure the bedding is deep enough, and you’ll be off cleaning duty for days.

I like to dry my used coffee grinds and mix those in with the bedding. it simple smells lovely!

When I first set up my coop, I threw some sweet pdz in there, but I’m not sure whether it really needs it.

This is my hospital brooder, one bird had a funny eye, so I decided to quarantine all the silkies.

I went a bit overboard with the depth here, you don’t need it to be that deep, lol.

 

[RevlisRemmah]

You can try it! I do recommend it as an alternative to sand. It’s also cheap enough to experiment with, and if you don’t like it? just toss it in the garden bed, lol.

Because it’s pine, It works great as a deep litter, if you’re lazy, just mix the poop in and only scoop once in a while. or if your birds are active in the coop (mine only use theirs for sleeping) they’ll scratch it in for you. Make sure the bedding is deep enough, and you’ll be off cleaning duty for days.

I like to dry my used coffee grinds and mix those in with the bedding. it simple smells lovely!

When I first set up my coop, I threw some sweet pdz in there, but I’m not sure whether it really needs it.

This is my hospital brooder, one bird had a funny eye, so I decided to quarantine all the silkies.

I went a bit overboard with the depth here, you don’t need it to be that deep, lol.

View attachment 2384924

The hospital brooder pic is so cute thanks for your reply!! I think I’m going to give it a try!!!

 

[4yearsofchickens]

I have heard about sand freezing in the winter. When I get shavings from TSC it's $6.99 for 8 cubic feet of shavings, which lasts me a while. Personally, I think that it is better to get shavings, but it's your decision.

I plan on having a heat lamp. I have found that shavings also freeze- and when they melt, it makes a mess.

 

[aart]

I plan on having a heat lamp. I have found that shavings also freeze- and when they melt, it makes a mess.

Poop freezes, and yes stinks when it melts.
Why I use a poop board with PDZ.
Heat lamps are scary.

 

[black_cat]

Heat lamps are scary.

Agreed!

 

[yakitori]

The hospital brooder pic is so cute thanks for your reply!! I think I’m going to give it a try!!!

Let me know how it goes! I don’t recommend making it bone dry before using as it will make it dusty. I was afraid moisture would create mold problems, but the slightly moisture of the hospital brooder was actually perfect.