Shredded printer paper for bedding

[Laurie Williams]

I have a lot of paper from my printer that gets shredded. Can I use that for bedding? Is the ink harmful?

 

[DobieLover]

I would not recommend that. It's going to wad up and mat when it gets wet and probably mold. Just stick to some dry fluffy bedding like large flake pine shavings or hemp or whatever dry material you have available. Something organic that will decompose.

 

[Intuit]

I have a lot of paper from my printer that gets shredded. Can I use that for bedding? Is the ink harmful?

I agree with dobielover, in addition the ink may be toxic

 

[Laurie Williams]

I would not recommend that. It's going to wad up and mat when it gets wet and probably mold. Just stick to some dry fluffy bedding like large flake pine shavings or hemp or whatever dry material you have available. Something organic that will decompose.

Good info. Thanks!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

My husband works at a bank. Periodically he brings home big garbage bags or shredded paper from the bank. It's all kinds of paper used in the office. We use it on the floor of the coop and in the nests and have done so for 15 years. It's awesome! Unlike straw or other organics it does not harbor pests of any kind. It does NOT mat, on the contrary, it wicks moisture from the chickens' droppings and leaves them in a dry powder on the floor to be swept up while the paper itself remains dry. It does not smell. About once a year I rake it out and add it to the compost heap or burn it. It is free, clean and easy to transport. There is a thread here on the subject of using shredded paper or cardboard for bedding. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Using Shredded Paper for Coop Litter - As Good As Wood Chips?​

Not sure if this will work as a link, but this is the title. @gtaus is the OP of the thread. Let's see if he responds and can tag you into the thread.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Here's the link.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...or-coop-litter-as-good-as-wood-chips.1503415/

 

[gtaus]

@BigBlueHen53 thanks for the shout out and the link to that thread. Lots of concerns and real-world experience using paper shreds have been discussed in that thread. I encourage @Laurie Williams to check out that thread. For now, I'll just address my experience with some quotes from this thread. I hope my comments will be helpful...

I have a lot of paper from my printer that gets shredded. Can I use that for bedding? Is the ink harmful?

Yes, you can use the printer paper shreds for bedding. No, the ink should not be harmful considering the small of ink used on the paper compared to the mass of the paper that would be in the bedding. Many inks are now soy based, totally safe. If you have a laser printer, again, the amount of toner to the size of the paper minimizes my concern of any harm.

I would not recommend that. It's going to wad up and mat when it gets wet and probably mold. Just stick to some dry fluffy bedding like large flake pine shavings or hemp or whatever dry material you have available. Something organic that will decompose.

My real-life experience, after using paper shreds for over 4 years, is that the paper does not wad up because it does not get wet in the coop, and therefore it also does not get any mold. Does it mix with the chicken poo? Absolutely, but it does not wad up more than any other litter I have used.

I agree with dobielover, in addition the ink may be toxic

Inks from all our local newspapers and magazines are soy based. Totally safe to use as bedding and later as compost. Most companies have already moved to environmental safe inks years ago because most paper ends up in landfills. Well, at least in my state we use safe soy based inks.

My husband works at a bank. Periodically he brings home big garbage bags or shredded paper from the bank. It's all kinds of paper used in the office. We use it on the floor of the coop and in the nests and have done so for 15 years. It's awesome! Unlike straw or other organics it does not harbor pests of any kind. It does NOT mat, on the contrary, it wicks moisture from the chickens' droppings and leaves them in a dry powder on the floor to be swept up while the paper itself remains dry. It does not smell. About once a year I rake it out and add it to the compost heap or burn it. It is free, clean and easy to transport. There is a thread here on the subject of using shredded paper or cardboard for bedding. I'll see if I can find it.

I only have ~4+ years of experience using paper shreds, but I agree with you 100%. Paper shreds is my preferred coop litter. But I also advocate for using any free renewable resource that a person can use - like grass clippings, leaves, wood chips, etc... Let's try to recycle and reuse our waste products as much as possible as coop litter and then later compost it into soil for our gardens.

Bottom line: Those of us that actually use paper shreds as coop litter have found it be a great, free, environmentally safe resource.

 

[StinkyAcres]

My only experience using shredded paper was in nest boxes. Our shredder only shreds in one direction and the long strands bothered me as they would get caught in the chicken's toes and be strewn about where I didn't want them. I'm curious, @gtaus and @BigBlueHen53 , what kind of shredded paper do you use?

 

[gtaus]

My only experience using shredded paper was in nest boxes. Our shredder only shreds in one direction and the long strands bothered me as they would get caught in the chicken's toes and be strewn about where I didn't want them. I'm curious, @gtaus and @BigBlueHen53 , what kind of shredded paper do you use?

Almost all my shredders are crosscut shredders.

I don't use paper shreds, per se, in the nest boxes. The paper would stick to the freshly laid eggs and Dear Wife did not like cleaning the paper off the eggs. That did not last long at our house. I have heard mixed results from others using paper shreds in the next box. Maybe it depends on the paper. It works for some, and not for others.

So, I experimented with different nest box material. Pine shavings work great, but eventually I would have to buy another bag. Free wood chips work great, if you can get them small enough. Not all wood chips are small in size. Some are actually shredded wood, or wood mulch, if they come out of processing in those large bin rotating drums. I have tried long dried grass in the nest boxes and that worked fine, but I don't have that available in our snowy winter months. I have used dried leaves as well. I guess lots of things would work for nest boxes.

Although I don't use paper sheds in the nest boxes, I discovered that if I use shredded cardboard, the cardboard shreds work just fine. Like pine shavings, the cardboard shreds are a bit heavier, bulkier, and don't stick to the eggs like thin paper. So, I will save up some cardboard and shred that separately for the nest boxes. Of course, I can use cardboard shreds year-round, and I don't have to pay for them. In fact, I just refilled my nest boxes yesterday with fresh cardboard shreds.

I don't have big office shredders, so I have to cut my cardboard into 2-3-inch-wide strips and feed them down the middle of the machine where you would put in credit cards. When cut into narrow strips, the cardboard does not jam my paper shredders.

My hands are not as strong as they used to be, so I bought a power cutter to cut the cardboard into strips. They are sold under many brand names. The most recent one I got was at Menards...

I got mine on sale for less than $10.00 at the time, but Menards normal price on this cutter is less expensive than any other options I have found. And, it works great for cutting cardboard into strips.

Of course, you can also use the power cutter for many other applications as well. I use it often to cut the plastic off blister packs when I buy new stuff. I hate that plastic molded stuff. I think originally it was used to cut fabric. In any case, it works on lots of stuff.