Standlee Flock Fresh

[Hrhchazman]

I haven't used Flock Fresh, but do use the Koop Klean product that is similar. Koop Klean is heated to get rid of mold etc., don't know if Flock Fresh is. While Koop Klean to me is super expensive ($18.99 per bale) and I use at least 2 for the summer & more in the winter, I really like it. It keeps my coop smelling fresher in the winter. I have a problem with wetness at times which I think is floor condensation. I had been using equine pellets under pine chips for the winter, but this stuff does the job & is lighter to shovel out in the spring. It also doesn't get hard as a rock when I fail to turn it properly under the roosts. It also breaks down faster in my compost, because the straw is chopped small. I have seen regular straw used on Alaska the Last Frontier & that appears to turn into a large wet mess in the winter. It really depends on how much you value your time over money to keep your coop clean! I do think the chickens prefer the chopped straw especially in the nest boxes. YMMV.

Not to sound stoopid, but how big is a bale, and where do you buy the Koop Klean?

 

[Cindy in PA]

A bale is a bit bigger than a bale/bag of pine shavings at TSC or a feed store. It is not as compacted and is in a plastic bag just like the pine shavings. The amount puts about a 2 inch layer of chopped straw in my 8 by 8 coop. I use two to start in fall & add during the winter as is needed. I get mine at my local feed store. Koop Klean has a website that can tell you who carries it near you.

 

[Hrhchazman]

Thanks Cindy. I have found a bunch of dealers within a 20 mile radius, I think I'll give it a try. We have been using the TSC pine shavings. No problems with them as we do use a coop deodorizer, but I would like to try an alternative.

 

[Isaac 0]

I buy Standlee straw bales.There way bigger than Flock fresh and you can buy Two bales for ten dollars.

 

[Hrhchazman]

I'm guessing you use some kind of deodorizer with the straw?

 

[Isaac 0]

I'm guessing you use some kind of deodorizer with the straw?

I use PdZ with it.But there straw bales are more chopped up and fine than regular ones.So there pretty absorbent.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Are the Standlee staw bales the loose stuff baled in plastic? My TSC has them & I use them to fill in during the winter because they are cheaper than Koop Klean & more convenient to pick up. The straw is a bit silkier than the coop clean, but the same chopped size. It's hard to compare the volume between the two as the Standlee is more compressed & the Koop Klean looser. So you get two for $10? It's $9.99 for one bale here. The only difference between the two is that Koop Klean is heat treated & has the PDZ already in it. Do you have trouble with the Standlee not being heat treated for mold?

Can't seem to get the quotes to work correctly. This is for Motherofclucker!

 

[Cindy in PA]

I have been looking into Koop Klean versus Standlee chopped straw & noticed that KK no longer states that the straw is heat treated, can anyone confirm this? This was a major selling point when it came out. Also KK is listed as 2.4 or 2.5 cu. feet which I assume is not compressed by how loose it is in the bag. Standlee is 2 cu. ft. compressed or 10 cu. ft. loose, according to the bag. This would make Standlee 4 times more straw then the KK. Doesn't appear to be, but that is what I am deducing. If so Standlee would be cheaper even buying the PDZ to go with it.

 

[Hrhchazman]

I use PdZ with it.But there straw bales are more chopped up and fine than regular ones.So there pretty absorbent.

Thank you. We have been using the PDZ with pine shavings, but I think I'm going to look for the Standlee straw bales locally.

 

[sevenpines]

I am on this thread because I bought some too, and noticed lots of dust in the air. I now just came out to four newly hatched silkie naked neck TEENSY WEENSY chicks, and am going to separate them and their "mothers!!!" (Silkies ascribe to the "it takes a village" mentality) to a new area where the chicks can get some air .... BUT I'm worried the dust will hurt them. I have been searching for quite a while and have found 1 review saying it's dusty, but no reviews saying it will hurt chicks. Anybody on this thread have an opinion about the chicks and the zeolite?