Storing Grass Clippings for bedding

[Barefoothappy]

Hello, I am trying to store grass clippings for use in colder months. Does anyone have any experience doing this without having molding issues? I have a lawn sweeper and tried storing it in a shed after i thought it was dry, but maybe it wasn't dry enough. Or maybe the humidity in the air did it. Perhaps it cannot be done, but just wondering if anyone has done it successfully. The pine flakes keep going up in price so I am trying to save money. Thank you for reading!

 

[NatJ]

I am trying to store grass clippings for use in colder months.

I have stored dry leaves, but have not tried grass clippings.
I think your leaves were probably not dry enough. Depending on your climate, "dry enough" may not exist.

When I have stored leaves, it was an area with cold winters. Leaves store nicely in plastic bags as long as the weather stays below freezing. In warmer weather, they can start to mold or rot or have various other problems if they were damp when they went into the bag.

I would probably dry the grass clippings on the lawn for a few days, then use them as bedding immediately, rather than trying to store them for later. I would also look for leaves in the fall, either on your own property or ones that other people want removed.

If you find different bedding sources at different seasons, you don't have as much need to store any of it

 

[Barefoothappy]

Thanks so much! That's good advice, I think.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Actually I plan on trying to store dry clippings, except... we've been having an exceptionally cool and wet May, so the cut grass is nowhere near drying out enough to attempt to store. So I won't have an answer until summer is fully underway.

Currently I store dried leaves in paper bags in the greenhouse, and they're good and inert in there for a year or more.

 

[Barefoothappy]

Thank you!

 

[Banana01]

Really tough to do, but not saying it cant be done. Grass clippings are great, except they do get mites and insects.

I have a lot of grass clippings around my house, and they take a long time to dry, but the chickens love them. If I were trying to save money, I might take the grass clippings and make a bed with them, but i would add a generous amount of other materials to make it resist mold and insects.

Im thinking ashes would be a really good additive. So take all the grass clippings you can, and burn half of them. The remaining mixture would be dryer, and also mix it with the ashes. Mites and insects do not do well in fresh ashes.

 

[NatJ]

Mites and insects do not do well in fresh ashes.

Fresh ashes can be bad for human skin too, and might be bad for chicken skin.
I would be very cautious about the idea of adding ashes to chicken bedding.

 

[Alagirl]

I don't think grass clippings keep well. They heat up really fast, or mat down and get moldy.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't think grass clippings keep well. They heat up really fast, or mat down and get moldy.

Probably won't work as I intend, but I won't know until I try.

A second reason for me wanting to try it this way is because of the avian flu. I can't just toss the mowed grass into the run without a wait time, so I was hoping to be able to put it aside to lower the risks before I toss the grass into the run.

 

[Alagirl]

Probably won't work as I intend, but I won't know until I try.

A second reason for me wanting to try it this way is because of the avian flu. I can't just toss the mowed grass into the run without a wait time, so I was hoping to be able to put it aside to lower the risks before I toss the grass into the run.

frankly, mulch it and leave it out.
the fermenting/mold issues would not be worth the risk to me.