shredded paper in the coop

[embochner]

is it okay to use shredded paper in the coop instead of wood shavings? what about newspaper- is it safe?

 

[Crystalchic]

I use shredded news paper for my new chicks, I would think that if you used it in your coop you would have to change it and clean it every two hours. that is what I have to do with my chicks. I now use ceder for now. I am going to change it to Bermuda straw i think that is what its called. Someone here said that the chickens will also eat it. To me newspaper is to dirty and hard to keep clean

 

[EweSheep]

I use them for nesting boxes. Other than that, it was too messy and gets wet alot when it rains. I've used paper and newspaper, both are acceptable for nesting boxes. You would have to replace them or add more weekly.

Do not use cedar bedding, it is toxic to chicks and chickens.

Straw is good but poor in absorbing wetness.

Stick with shavings, it goes a long ways.

 

[jonathansenn]

newspaper works, but shavings work better. I use aspen shavings. Not toxic to the chickens.

 

[Crystalchic]

Do not use cedar bedding, it is toxic to chicks and chickens.
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It might not be ceder, i get my wood shavings mixed up. its what the feed store told me to use. i used it for three years so far with no problems. so i must be using the right stuff.

 

[CARS]

I primarily use wood shavings, they do go a long way and are fairly cheap.

A month or so ago, I tried paper shreds from the local bank. I got one bag or short shred and one of full length shred. I like the way the short shred layed in the nesting box but the chickens just kicked it all out. I does seem to work fine on the floor though. I guess I will know more as it gets soiled.
The long shred paper made it hard to retrieve eggs and it looked as if the chickens were getting tangled in it while nesting. I don't think the long shred would make good floor material. It just looks messy and hard for them to walk through.

The best part of paper shreds... FREE for the taking. In fact, it's a product that they have to pay for disposal/recycling because it's kind of a specialty waste in that quantity.

 

[chuckzoo]

I used newspaper layers covered with paper towel. When they were old enough to start scatching they bunched up the paper towel so I replaced it with a layer of wheat straw since that is what I planned to keep them on in the summer when it's dry, in winter I plan to switch to wood shavings.
My chicks started to eat the newspaper and I was afraid they would get impacted, covering it with the straw helped.

 

[Lalaith]

I use a base of hardwood shavings with microshredded paper on top (all of my junk mail). It is light and bright and very absorbant. I can flip off the yucky top part easily and replace as needed. Then I gut the coop every couple of weeks and replace the shavings. I find the paper breaks down much faster in the compost heap and I love it that my chicken coop smells like a bookstore

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[Kitchenella]

I have a 2/5 " x 3'x3' coop for 3 chickens. I use only newspaper that I cut into strips with a manual paper cutter. I put in 1/2 garbage bag when I clean the coop. It works fine. Its dry now here and I havn't cleaned out the coop for over 3 weeks. When it was rainy I had to change it more often because they would bring in mud on their feet and they spend more time inside the coop. (I plan to replace the dirt in the run with sand this summer).


The girls tend to scratch it around when they are eating from the feeder but when I go to close the coop at night I just redistribute the paper so that more of it is under the perch.

I also use it in their cardboard nesting box and rarely replace it. The box just sits in a corner of the coop floor. I collect the eggs every day and the box seems to stay nice and clean. Now and then I fluff up the paper in the box.

Peggy