Use your grass trimmings in your brooder or coop

[S and A Layers]

Why buy shaving when most of us have to cut grass anyways. I have a small chicken house that houses about 100 chickens and I shovel there floor once a week so sense I cut grass about that much I rake up the shaving and spread it in there pens to keep a fresh floor and it's easier to clean up then just dirt. Does anybody else have any ideas for recycling things to put in your coop and brooder?

 

[JNB]

We also use cut grass in our pens and coops.
In the fall and early winter months we add the fallen leaves.
Winter I use the hay sweepings from the days feeding swept up and added to the coop and run

 

[S and A Layers]

I'll have to use leaves in the fall and winter to I didn't think of that but that will keep them something to scratch in and easy for me to shovel and rake up, thanks for the idea.

 

[Eggcessive]

Grass and leaves work fine in a coop, but make sure they are good and dried out before putting them in so as to prevent mold which can cause disease.

 

[lcahill]

I have started using grass clippings in the outside run and in the coop I use pine shavings (for now). The chickens really like grass clipping in the run to scratch around and pick out the best stuff. I don't know what I will do in the winter yet...

 

[Runawaylobster]

DITTO, i only just figured it out. I had a boatload of clippings one day recently, normally i dont collect them up but there were so many that day I raked some. It occurred to me that they chickens might like it, and I put it in the coop. What a great response, they loved it and I loved it too because it immediately stopped the mud in the run from the bad rains we have in the summer...

what an incentive to cut the yard ... LOL!!!

 

[S and A Layers]

My big chicken coop is 16x16ft and is walled up but has 4 big windows with chicken wire over them to "beat the heat" but I put fresh cut grass in mine it tries while its on the floor then I shovel it up and the end of the week and start over and being I have a acre of watermelons grown we are tired of them so cut it in cubes and throw it to the chickens every morning and they free range during the day and before dark I pour feed in there coop so they know when it's time to eat and where I house about 100 chickens in this one pen but there's enough room I also have other coops and many breeds you can see it you go look at my pictures, thanks for the replies everybody.

 

[QuirkySue]

I've been putting a few handfuls of fresh cut grass in the coop after I cut the lawn and the birds love it. They scratch through it, eat most of it, and mix the rest all through the shavings so the pens smell better. The birds that have access to the outside run don't care for it, but the ones in grow out pens go crazy for it! I'll have to keep a close eye on it though, I didn't think of the moisture in the grass being a problem.