Storing Grass Clippings for bedding

[rosemarythyme]

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

Obviously I'd be checking the condition of it before dumping it on the chickens. Worst case scenario my compost cart gets a bit full for a few weeks. But if I can get it to dry, I don't see what difference there is between dried lawn clippings and hay.

 

[raingarden]

The silage they put up for feeding cattle through the winter is basically fermented grass clippings.

how to make silage

 

[Alagirl]

The silage they put up for feeding cattle through the winter is basically fermented grass clippings.

how to make silage

It is, but comes with challenges.

 

[NatJ]

if I can get it to dry, I don't see what difference there is between dried lawn clippings and hay.

The lawn clippings will be shorter, and lawn grass may be thinner and more tender than the kinds of grass usually used to make hay.

But on the whole, I agree: dried grass = hay. You just have to handle it a bit differently depending on how long or short it is. Making sure it is dry enough to store would be equally important at any length.

 

[Banana01]

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.

I dont think so, ashes are sterile and my neighbor uses pure ashes in clay pots to brood her hens. Ashes are what chickens bathe in. Ash that is pure carbon from clean burning wood or grass is medicinal, its eaten to absorb toxins, and sterile often used to be put on wounds to keep it clean. I will try this myself and maybe report back to the thread, I will mix the burnt ashes of grass with dried grass and i have a few nesting boxes to fill.

The other option is mix permethrim dust with the grass, but I would prefer ashes. Any dust is not really good to inhale, but I started out using grass and had a huge mite problem because of it.

 

[NatJ]

I dont think so, ashes are sterile

Sterile refers to whether it has germs. I'm talking about other kinds of bad, like caustic or causing chemical burns.
As an example, bleach is sterile, but straight bleach is bad for your skin.

As regards ashes, lye can be made by dripping water through wood ashes.
Lye may be sterile, but getting it on your skin is definitely a bad idea.
That is why I would be concerned.

and my neighbor uses pure ashes in clay pots to brood her hens. Ashes are what chickens bathe in. Ash that is pure carbon from clean burning wood or grass is medicinal, its eaten to absorb toxins, and sterile often used to be put on wounds to keep it clean. I will try this myself and maybe report back to the thread, I will mix the burnt ashes of grass with dried grass and i have a few nesting boxes to fill.

The other option is mix permethrim dust with the grass, but I would prefer ashes. Any dust is not really good to inhale, but I started out using grass and had a huge mite problem because of it.

OK, so ashes can sometimes be used safely.
As long as the chickens have other options as well, so they can avoid it if the ashes cause them problems, that makes sense to try.

I am much more aware of ashes --> lye than of other uses for ashes, so that's what occured to me first.

 

[Banana01]

Sterile refers to whether it has germs. I'm talking about other kinds of bad, like caustic or causing chemical burns.
As an example, bleach is sterile, but straight bleach is bad for your skin.

As regards ashes, lye can be made by dripping water through wood ashes.
Lye may be sterile, but getting it on your skin is definitely a bad idea.
That is why I would be concerned.



OK, so ashes can sometimes be used safely.
As long as the chickens have other options as well, so they can avoid it if the ashes cause them problems, that makes sense to try.

I am much more aware of ashes --> lye than of other uses for ashes, so that's what occured to me first.

Well good point, however the problem is moisture not ash. If their bedding gets wet, it would become caustic and create lye. So ashes are not recommended. But leaching ash is a process that requires moisture. Fresh dry ashes may be safe, but as soon as they get moist you may be producing a toxin.

So that sort of make ashes a bad idea, because you have to assume they will get moist.

 

[Alagirl]

The lawn clippings will be shorter, and lawn grass may be thinner and more tender than the kinds of grass usually used to make hay.

But on the whole, I agree: dried grass = hay. You just have to handle it a bit differently depending on how long or short it is. Making sure it is dry enough to store would be equally important at any length.

hay undergoes a curing process once it is bailed. If not stored and handled properly the bales can heat up and set a barn on fire! I think that has happened to my grandfather's barn, prompting them to build in a ventilation system. In the case of chickens, it might not matter, but you cannot feed fresh hay to horses. It must rest a few weeks first.

 

[rosemarythyme]

hay undergoes a curing process once it is bailed. If not stored and handled properly the bales can heat up and set a barn on fire! I think that has happened to my grandfather's barn, prompting them to build in a ventilation system. In the case of chickens, it might not matter, but you cannot feed fresh hay to horses. It must rest a few weeks first.

Yup, very aware of the fact that it's flammable. I'm pretty limited in storage space though so I wouldn't be attempting to store more than a few bags anyhow.

 

[FowlRancher]

Last year I successfully used grass clippings throughout the summer as bedding.

My mower catches the mulched grass in a bag and I'd spread it thin over a tarp on a hot sunny day, occasionally grab a corner of the tarp and flip the grass around. After a day or two it's bone dry and I basically used it as fast as I made it.

It went to compost after the chickens were done with it!