Used straw bedding

[yarrowhouse]

Hi y'all. How much straw do you go through for bedding? What do you do with the throwaway?

We feel like we are accumulating a surprising amount of used straw. This is for 3 ducks that go to bed each night in a hutch 3ft x 7ft. We understand "deep litter" isn't a good choice for straw as it can mold, and our local extension vet recommended we "toss" the straw regularly to air it out. So each day we use a handled "gripper" to pick out the feces and toss the straw around a bit. We put the waste in a 5 gallon bucket, which we fill up once or twice per week with waste and straw. Once in a while we remove and replace all the straw.

Appreciate y'all's perspective!

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I use wood chips instead of straw, as they don't pack down or disintegrate as much as straw, and hold less moisture. That said, with 42 chickens, I don't collect the droppings at all --- I just turn the wood chips frequently, add more occasionally (deep litter), add Stall Dry (similar to Sweet PDQ) to absorb moisture and odor, and clean it all out and replace about 4 times a year. The used chips go into a compost pile, used as mulch around my fruit trees and grape vines, scattered in the garden, or given to a friend who uses them in his garden. It's like gold to vegetables.

 

[yarrowhouse]

I use wood chips instead of straw, as they don't pack down or disintegrate as much as straw, and hold less moisture. That said, with 42 chickens, I don't collect the droppings at all --- I just turn the wood chips frequently, add more occasionally (deep litter), add Stall Dry (similar to Sweet PDQ) to absorb moisture and odor, and clean it all out and replace about 4 times a year. The used chips go into a compost pile, used as mulch around my fruit trees and grape vines, scattered in the garden, or given to a friend who uses them in his garden. It's like gold to vegetables.

What do you mean by wood chips?

 

[Evadig]

Hi y'all. How much straw do you go through for bedding? What do you do with the throwaway?

We feel like we are accumulating a surprising amount of used straw. This is for 3 ducks that go to bed each night in a hutch 3ft x 7ft. We understand "deep litter" isn't a good choice for straw as it can mold, and our local extension vet recommended we "toss" the straw regularly to air it out. So each day we use a handled "gripper" to pick out the feces and toss the straw around a bit. We put the waste in a 5 gallon bucket, which we fill up once or twice per week with waste and straw. Once in a while we remove and replace all the straw.

Appreciate y'all's perspective!

I use straw, during winter at least. In my area it’s way more economical than pine shavings at TSC. I just throw a little bit more straw down every night so they’re always lying on fresh straw. I go through about one bale every month but that is because I also use it for the goose bedding and boredom busters for the chickens. When I can no longer close the door to the goose pen I know it’s time to clean the straw; I shovel it all into the wheelbarrow (good muscle building) with a pitchfork and dump it in my used bedding compost. That sits there for a year and the chickens sift through it and dry it out. When it’s all dry and tolerably clean (having been rained on multiple times in addition to being sifted through by the hens) I put it in old feed bags to reuse (though I generally don’t use it as bedding again, I throw it in the run to keep the mud down and give the chickens something to scratch at). I also sprinkle it with DE to minimize any mites. Hope this helps !

 

[Evadig]

What do you mean by wood chips?

Probably pine shavings

 

[BarnyardChaos]

What do you mean by wood chips?

Yes, as @Evadig said, I mean pine shavings. Available at any farm store, Tractor Supply, etc. - even walmart and amazon. I use the large flakes for the coop floor, and fine flake for nesting boxes.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I use my pine shaving I collect daily and toss onto the ice-covered walk way inside my flocks property It keeps them for doing splits when walking and me too. It doesn't take long for the poo to get washed through it.

 

[StinkyAcres]

I go through one straw bale maybe every couple months. I also turn it regularly. I use SweetPDZ below the straw but with ducks it still gets too wet to keep it in the coop for long. I dump soiled bedding in the compost pile or spread it on garden pathways to keep weeds down in the summer or cover ice in the winter.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

@StinkyAcres I love those lyrics in your signature!!!!
"( Take me out to the chicken coop, take me out with the flock; Buy me some pellets and chicken scratch; I don't care if I get really fat; Let me peck, peck, peck for some insects; If I'm a pest I'll be soup; For it's buk, buk, buk, buk, bukawk! at the old chicken coop! )"

 

[StinkyAcres]

@StinkyAcres I love those lyrics in your signature!!!!
"( Take me out to the chicken coop, take me out with the flock; Buy me some pellets and chicken scratch; I don't care if I get really fat; Let me peck, peck, peck for some insects; If I'm a pest I'll be soup; For it's buk, buk, buk, buk, bukawk! at the old chicken coop! )"

Why thank you!