thinking of a litter change for the coop, suggestions?

[confusedturtle]

I definitely will update and let everyone know how the coffee chaff goes. I looked up some coffee roatsers in my area and I will call them first thing in the morning. If they let me I will get as many bucket loads of it as possible. Im willing to pay for it if they charge, I would imagine the coffee smell would overpower any poop smell. Im so excited I can't wait to try this out. I used some of my hay as mulch and when I switch I will use the rest in there as well. **Off topic** I used bunny berries in my garden this year and my bell peppers & tomatoes are loving it! My bell peppers did terrible last year (none made it to the table) but this year I have a ton, and I have already gotten some decent sized tomatoes as well. Im a bit of a garden/pet freak, I love how they work together and make such great things

May have to add bunnies to my list of pets after I get the hang of chickens and everything settles down

 

[MiddleChild]

Quote:

It never settles down ....

 

[confusedturtle]

LoL I kinda figured that

just when I think things are settled down we find out something needs to be changed around LoL! Hubby doesn't mind me going to the feed stores & coffee shops looking for supplies but has asked me not to bring home anymore pets hehehe we'll see

 

[EncinoMan]

My concern with coffee chaff is that it's incredibly thin and lightweight...I roast my own coffee at home, and when I clean it out of the roaster it makes a huge mess in my kitchen. The slightest breeze blows it all over the place, I can just imagine what a few hens flapping their wings would do! My chaff goes into the composter...not that I produce nearly enough of it to use as bedding anyhow.

So far I'm going with ample pine shavings sprinkled with DE. No odor issues yet, although the weather is still cool, my girls are few in number and still pretty small. I've got a bag of Sweet PDZ that I'll start adding should the coop start to get that not-so-fresh smell!

 

[Emily1220]

I started with shredded paper because I had access to tons of it for free. But it started to smell. I switched to fresh pine bedding and it s great. A huge, but lightweight, bag of it only costs about $5.00. The deep litter method is where you put whatever bedding you want in the coop, as it gets dirty you just add more of the bedding on top of the old until you get about 10-12 inches deep of bedding. Only clean out the coop once a year and it is already composting at the bottom. I dont use that method, seems dirty to me, but many people like the idea. Good luck!!!

 

[ben is a terror]

My feed store sells some thing called dust free pine I think they called it Horse pine? It comes in a 3cubic bag and expands to 9cu feet The bags are very light to carry.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

I have tried several different things and we love the Pine shavings the best and the birds seem to as well. I hated straw/hay because it got smelly fast and some of my birds were getting crop impactions from eating to much of it

They would get it stuck in the mouth and I would look in and have to pull long pieces of straw out.

My feed store sells some thing called dust free pine I think they called it Horse pine? It comes in a 3cubic bag and expands to 9cu feet The bags are very light to carry.

This is very interesting, I will have to look into this during my next visit to the feed store. Is this by the horse section then?​

 

[bryan99705]

Sand works great, does not absorb, and cleans up like kitty litter

 

[spiritdance]

Quote:
So teach him the #1 rule of chicken math: if it has a name it doesn't count, and yes, #51 IS TOO a name!

I use sand in my coops and will never go back to pine! Clean up is sooo much easier, and when I put it down I mix a bit of DE and Sevin into the top ... lice and mites are a thing of the past!

 

[ben is a terror]

The one feed store calls it just dust free pine the other calls it horse pine. I just go to the counter an ask.