TSC bedding poisoned chicks

[YellowRoseFarm]

@chickawhat
I am following up on the results of the labs from the chicks you sent to TX A&M. Anything definitive on the toxicity of the bedding?

I, too, have been interested in using the Natural Bedding from spent coffee grounds that they sell at TSC, but I'm obviously concerned after seeing a couple of threads here.

I'm currently using pine shavings in the brooder for two separate sets of chicks, but I'm going to be finished constructing their "big girl coop" in a few weeks, and I was planning to try this bedding because of the stellar reviews on TSC. People say that they love it, and the only time they sell it is during Chick Days, and it's amazingly clean, yada yada yada.

I live in TX with excessive heat and high humidity...it's basically like living in a mouth. So, I'm searching for the best, dryest option for the ladies. I picked up a couple of bags while I was there last, but I'm wondering if I need to revisit the washed construction sand...

 

[Ascholten]

Coffee grounds can get clumpy and moldy when they get wet. I have found that pine shavings, may get a bit damp but curtail the mold and 'those' issues pretty well from my experience.

Next time you brew a pot of coffee, take the grounds, and the paper filter if you use one, and just set the thing outside, on the porch or by a tree or something, and then go check it in a few days and see it's condition. That is essentially what will happen in your coop, especially after they dump on them a few times etc.

Yes they may have some uses and be good in some areas, but id think that humidity like you are suggesting (florida here, I know ALL about it) may cause issues with it.

Aaron

 

[BanoOmg]

I dumped a bag of the coffee ground bedding from TSC in with 5+ bags of shavings. 3 bags shavings, 1 bag coffee bedding, a month passed, then 2 more bags shavings.

I have 6 new chicks as of 5/1. I'll report here if any/all suddenly die.

 

[WallyG74]

Good Gravy! That’s the same damn stuff!!! I cannot believe this! I am going to secure a few of the dead chicks and send them in to Texas A&M. I’m so livid

Not to be ugly, but why did you switch to it? It’s so much more expensive and you get way less than if you just kept using pine shavings.

 

[YellowRoseFarm]

Not to be ugly, but why did you switch to it? It’s so much more expensive and you get way less than if you just kept using pine shavings.

OP mentioned that they were out of the big bags of pine shavings that day and this was hailed as the next best thing.

 

[Kmaria187]

Omg I saw that at ts the other day and was thinking of buying it so glad we didn't thanks for the heads up on the danger!!!!!

 

[YellowRoseFarm]

Omg I saw that at ts the other day and was thinking of buying it so glad we didn't thanks for the heads up on the danger!!!!!

I'm still not convinced that the Grounds Natural Bedding is 100% a bad choice. Unfortunately, it seems to be the common denominator in OP's chicks' deaths, but I'm not entirely ruling it out for use in my coop once my chicks are ready to be outdoors full-time.

I'm no expert, just an avid researcher and purveyor of facts (blame the day job). It could have been a bad bag. I know I've seen some feed and bedding at my local TSC and Atwoods that had been exposed to moisture or looked like rodents had ravaged them. These days, retailers are sorely understaffed.

It's also not the same as taking grounds from your coffee machine and throwing it in the coop, which I definitely wouldn't do, considering I've been a broke college student who ran out of coffee and used spent grounds that gave me enough caffeine to get through an 8 am class.

The Power by Coffee Grounds All Natural Animal Bedding states on the website that there's no caffeine in the bedding, and they spent a year product testing. Now, I have no idea if that's industry-standard, but I'd like to think that if there were multiple deaths or any indication of an endemic response, it'd be pulled from the shelves. TSC would be happy to offer their brand of pine shavings in place of another product.

That's just my 2 cents.

 

[Ascholten]

As the old saying goes.
Correlation does NOT mean causation.
Circumstantial evidence may point to the stuff being deadly but until some genuine unbiased research is done, either officially OR people who get the stuff and honestly report how it works. we will just have to continue being cautious.

Just remember weather and climate can play a HUGE part in your results. If you live in a swamp, coffee grounds may not be your best choice for bedding.

aaron

 

[Jaime918]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your chicks. I have a mostly full bag of this on my deck after using it for a day and a half with five 2 week old chicks. They didn't aim to eat any but goodness the mess they created with the grounds and water, it had to go.

I regretted buying it the instant I opened it, but just as OP stated, TSC was out of the usual shavings so now to find another way to use it other than a tarp weight for the 4-wheeler.

 

[NatJ]

I have a mostly full bag of this on my deck... now to find another way to use it other than a tarp weight for the 4-wheeler.

Coffee grounds are definitely organic matter of some sort, and have a fine texture, so you could sprinkle it on your lawn and let bacteria & earthworms break it down and work it into the soil.