Sweet PDZ?

[Rosecoop]

I was looking around here and see many folks like to use the PDZ in their coops for easy clean up and odor control. I went out and picked some up and now use it as a base layer in my coop and run. However, my chicks seem to be afraid of it. They stay huddled up on a garden brick that their water source sits on.

Is this stuff safe for my chicks?? Nothing I have read suggests it wouldn't be, but I need to be sure. I have OCD when it comes to my animals...I spend several hours a week making sure they have the best possible living conditions. Please help me with this...I'm getting nervous.

Mike

 

[Rosecoop]

Hopefully it's something that they have to get used to and it's just a nervous tick

 

[allyclair]

I use Stable Boy in my coop which I'm told is the same stuff, just a different brand. I only use it on poop boards though and so my chickens don't actually step in it.

It's pretty fine powder and may not be a good idea for them to be scratching around in it and inhaling it? I don't know, maybe lots of others use it like this with no troubles but I use a mask now when cleaning my poop boards due to the cloud of fine particles in the air when I start scooping poop.

It sure does a great job of killing the nasty poop smell though!

 

[Rosecoop]

Well I'm not using the powder version, but the fine granules. I only plan on using it as a base layer mixed with straw. I don't have poop boards...YET, but I will, lol. Thanks for the help.

Mike

 

[Rosecoop]

Also, what do you use for bedding ( not in a nest box)? I want to do my best to keep the flies at bay. That's my biggest concern at this point with the hot summer days.

 

[tcstoehr]

My first reaction is that they should not be walking around in pure PDZ. In horse stalls and such they just spread a thin layer across the floor along with the existing bedding matrials. Chicken keepers in this forum generally use PDZ in the poop-trays beneath the roosting areas. It's to catch and deoderize the poop, not for walking around and sleeping and scratching and dust-bathing in. I don't blame those little guys for avoiding it.

 

[Rosecoop]

My first reaction is that they should not be walking around in pure PDZ. In horse stalls and such they just spread a thin layer across the floor along with the existing bedding matrials. Chicken keepers in this forum generally use PDZ in the poop-trays beneath the roosting areas. It's to catch and deoderize the poop, not for walking around and sleeping and scratching and dust-bathing in. I don't blame those little guys for avoiding it.

They're not dust bathing in it, but they are walking around on it and they perch on the roosting sticks in the coop. I wasn't sure how it was applied. I will make immediate corrections!! Thank you so much for the help!

 

[Rosecoop]

My first reaction is that they should not be walking around in pure PDZ. In horse stalls and such they just spread a thin layer across the floor along with the existing bedding matrials. Chicken keepers in this forum generally use PDZ in the poop-trays beneath the roosting areas. It's to catch and deoderize the poop, not for walking around and sleeping and scratching and dust-bathing in. I don't blame those little guys for avoiding it.

Ok...made some changes. Took out the PDZ, leaving just a small amount scattered and then covered with straw in the coop. Removed pretty much all of it from the run, then lightly scattered chick grit around the food bowl. What do you think?

 

[ChickenMammX4]

We have PDZ on the poop board and pine shavings on the coop floor. The chickens do walk/stand on the poop board with no problems.

 

[Rosecoop]

We have PDZ on the poop board and pine shavings on the coop floor. The chickens do walk/stand on the poop board with no problems.

Thanks! I was just not entirely sure how to apply it for chickens, as it seems to be made for horse stables. My chicks didn't seem to have an issue with it, but I don't have poop boards installed yet. They don't really roost yet, just huddle up in one corner.