Shavings or stall pellets?

[bheila]

I will be building my 1st coop in a few weeks and I would like to do the deep litter method. I am wondering which would work better. Pine shavings or stall pellets? I have a duck house that I use stall pellets in and it works great but its only for 8 ducks and only about 6'x8'. The coop that I'm going to be building will be about 10'x16' and will have about 50 chickens roosting in it. Any opinions would be appreciated.

 

[willheveland]

Pine shavings.

 

[beaconite chicks]

Pine shavings. Dont use hay... if you were thinking about it.

 

[cherig22]

I use chopped hay in my coop, why should I not use it? I also use hay in the nesting boxes.....

Cheri

 

[miss_thenorth]

Hay or straw?? big difference......

 

[bheila]

I suppose I could use hay. It would be the cheapest way to go seems how that's how my husband and I make our living. We sell hay! I just hate how long it takes to clean up.

So nobody likes using stall pellets?

 

[miss_thenorth]

I just don't see the sense in the pellets. the thing with hay though is they will eat it and will be prone to impacted crop. I would go with shavings. I also don't see a problem with straw. It really decomposes faster than shavings, but it will be a gloopy mess to shovel out in the spring.

 

[orchidchick]

Hi,
I use the pellets and love them, but its for a 3' x 6 coop with only three hens. It's also a raised coop, and I just let them break down as they age as opposed to adding water because it's so humid here in Florida. If I had a walk in coop, I would worry about braking my neck!!!

If I had a coop as big as your new one with as many chickens as you plan on, I think I would use the pellets too, but just hit the walk areas lightly with the hose to get them to break down a bit so you don't slip.

I find when using the pellets for the deep litter method, as you stir things up, you have some pellets that aren't broken down and are still freshening things up as they break down. My coop never smells, even in the hot humid rainy days of summer using the deep litter method with the pellets.

Good luck!

 

[willheveland]

Hay gets wet and never really dries out.It gets moldy and can harbor micro-critters. Will

 

[cmom]

Pine shavings with Food Grade DE sprinkled in it.