Update on GROUNDS Coffee Ground Bedding for your coop!

[drinkoj]

Excellent ideas! I always spread coffee grounds in my compost bins or my raised beds but never thought about it for the coop.

Anything to help the smell!!

PS I grow a ton of Basil and tossing some Basil sprigs into the coop is always a welcome event for the girls!

Just started growing spearmint so that I can do the same thing. Thinking about getting a 55 gal drum, cutting it in half, and then putting some wood around it for aesthetics, so that I can control where it grows since it's so invasive.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I wanted to edit my original post to include all of the questions I've answered throughout the thread, so that you don't have to scroll and scroll. I also wanted to expand a bit on whether or not coffee grounds on toxic to chickens. Unfortunately I cannot edit the original post, so I updated my signature with a link to a blog post which collectively answers all of the questions: https://humble-hills-farm.com/2020/07/24/using-coffee-grounds-as-chicken-coop-bedding/ I am learning as I go, so I'll keeping updating the post (and on here, too).

Here's the excerpt about ingesting coffee grounds:

Caffeine is a member of the methylxanthine family, and methylxanthines are potentially toxic to pets in certain quantities, but research is limited on chickens. I found various opinions online from bloggers, a couple stating that caffeine could be toxic to chickens (Raising Happy Chickens & Chicken and Chicks Information ). Hobby Farms states that coffee grounds shouldn’t be feed to chickens, but that coffee chaff makes acceptable bedding. Remember, chickens are not mammals, and mammals are the pets that most data is based upon in terms of toxicity.

I found only one official research article which included coffee as feed for chickens. The Inclusion of Coffee in Commercial Layer Diets, published in 2011, included 125 laying hens which were split into groups: a control, one fed 1.2% of their diet with caffeinated coffee (roughly 9 mg of caffeine per bird, considered a “moderate” amount), and the other fed a diet with 1.2% decaffeinated coffee. The study lasted between 21 and 35 weeks. The authors were assessing the affects coffee might have on the feed intake, egg production, and egg quality of commercial laying hens. What they found was there was no significant difference in feed intake, egg production, egg weight, egg mass, or feed conversion rate; however, egg shells were slightly thinner. They conclude by saying, “No scientific articles on feeding coffee to poultry were found, and therefore, further studies using coffee dregs, because it is a cheap byproduct and with economic potential, are recommended.” The unspoken conclusion here would be coffee does not appear toxic to chickens when consumed continuously in moderate amounts for a period of five to six months.

In reality, some bedding that we commonly use are also possibly toxic (I’m looking at you, pine shavings and straw), and yet farmers, backyard chicken keepers, and homesteaders continue to use them. I have been using coffee grounds in my coop for five months now to no ill-effects and will continue to use them. My chickens do not express any interest in eating the grounds, or if they have they have not had any objective health issues. Every chicken is different so my experiences may not align with yours. I think the economic potential of coffee dregs lies in it’s use as bedding, not feed.

 

[RebelEgger]

They are not bad at all. The caffeine has been extracted during the coffee brewing process and little if any is left in the grounds.

I’m think of starting to try this at least in my poop boards. Currently I’m using Fresh Coop and it’s pricey! So glad I found this thread!

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I’m think of starting to try this at least in my poop boards. Currently I’m using Fresh Coop and it’s pricey! So glad I found this thread!

I'm thinking of switching to coffee on the board or removing it all together at this point. I am currently using sweet PDZ but it's a lot dustier than coffee, it's just I have a fairly large bag of it remaining, and in theory more effective at reducing odor for wet poops.

 

[RebelEgger]

Just started growing spearmint so that I can do the same thing. Thinking about getting a 55 gal drum, cutting it in half, and then putting some wood around it for aesthetics, so that I can control where it grows since it's so invasive.

I started growing spearmint, chocolate mint, lemon mint, comfrey and thyme for the same reason. The chickens love the comfrey best so far.

 

[drinkoj]

I’m think of starting to try this at least in my poop boards. Currently I’m using Fresh Coop and it’s pricey! So glad I found this thread!

That's what I'm thinking about using it for in addition to the PDZ granular use. Think about ditching the fresh coop for the PDZ as it much cheaper and widely used by members here.

 

[RebelEgger]

I'm thinking of switching to coffee on the board or removing it all together at this point. I am currently using sweet PDZ but it's a lot dustier than coffee, it's just I have a fairly large bag of it remaining, and in theory more effective at reducing odor for wet poops.

We can’t get sweet PDZ in Canada. When I first put them in the coop I tried AG lime in the poop board but it’s super dusty so I switched it out for the Fresh Coop. It basically just like scoopable cat litter but doesn’t clump. But I really like the idea of the coffee grounds. Especially if I can get it from a coffee shop for free!

 

[RebelEgger]

That's what I'm thinking about using it for in addition to the PDZ granular use. Think about ditching the fresh coop for the PDZ as it much cheaper and widely used by members here.

We can’t get PDZ in Canada
That’s why I went with the fresh coop

 

[humblehillsfarm]

We can’t get sweet PDZ in Canada. When I first put them in the coop I tried AG lime in the poop board but it’s super dusty so I switched it out for the Fresh Coop. It basically just like scoopable cat litter but doesn’t clump. But I really like the idea of the coffee grounds. Especially if I can get it from a coffee shop for free!

I had used fresh coop but felt it was way too pricey to use in the amounts I needed.

 

[RebelEgger]

I had used fresh coop but felt it was way too pricey to use in the amounts I needed.

It’s stupid expensive! I buy it by the 1 gallon jug I think and it’s like $28, but it’s the only thing I can find near me in NS that did what I needed it to without being too dusty like the AG lime