Using grass clippings as bedding?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

[thoughtsbysabian]

So the other day I ended up filing my compost bin and had nowhere to place all the GREAT grass clippings.... I REALLY didn't want to see them go to waste, so I figured I would try to add them to the chicken coop as a bedding material. This far the chickens seem to LOVE IT, as they are scratching/picking through it and eating whatever they find. Also there are some nice grasshoppers and crickets in there that made it through the mower alive. My question is has anyone out there has ANY problems doing this?????? SO FAR this SEEMS to be a TOTAL win/win as it only adds to the compost (mixing the clippings and the chicken droppings from the beginning stage) AND they LOVE it.... Anyone also doing this PLEASE comment, as I would love to here your experiences.

 

[Imp]

I use grass clippings in the run. Never have had a problem. Can't see it being bad in the coop. The only warning I have heard about grass is there is a potential if the stalks are long and tough, of a crop impaction. I think lawn cuttings would be plenty short.

Imp

 

[thoughtsbysabian]

Yes, the clippings are plenty short, I really can't see a problem there.... However, I didn't even think of using them in the run....LOL... I think I am going to do that as well. I have TONS and TONS of clippings, and need to keep finding places to put them. I REFUSE to waste this resource!!!!!! Thanks for the heads up on the crop impaction, I will have to keep a close eye on them.

 

[tclegg]

I do throw small amounts of yard clippings in my run--but do not use them in the coop. With clippings you have to make sure they do not have any moisture in them. Clippings have a very bad problem of causing mold and mildew and when they break down becoming sour. This couses alot of problems physically and environmentally for you and your chickens in the coop..To me I would not take the chance inside a coop with clippings...but outside in run in small amounts, as long as it's not wet and will be gone threw in a fair amount of time should be fine...

 

[Kassaundra]

I use them in the run all the time, they love to pick through it, I have put large amounts in w/o problems b/c they keep turning it to see what they can find. I do not think I would use them in the coop though. If left undisturbed they grow a white mold / fungus looking thing and get very hot to the touch, actually can get hot enough to burn.

 

[BrokenRoadFarm]

We put them in the run but not the coop - we use pine shavings in the coop.

 

[clairabean]

Mold! Green, wet clippings have a tendency to compact down, more so when chickens tread all over it and the poop. A sprinkle is great, a layer is not.

If you can spread it out very thin- like 1" at max- then it will be ok. It will dry.

 

[HenCrazyMom]

We use clippings in the run but not the coop. It does not take long for the girls to pick through a weeks worth of clippings.

 

[WishboneDawn]

We were using ours in the pen we kept the Cornish x's in at night (they free-ranged during the day). We'd just leave them out on the lawn a day or two before using them though and they'd be nice and dry. It helped that they slept in an old dog run with a few pieces of plywood propped up on the sides where prevailing winds and rain would come from so there was LOTS of ventilation.

I imagine letting them dry out would make them more suitable for inside a coop?

I should note that leaving the clippings on the lawn to dry wasn't an intentional thing, just a we're-too-lazy-to-rake-the-same-day thing.

 

[The BackYarder]

We throw grass clippings in our run, not our coop. We only do this becuase we do not use chemical fertalizer on our grass. I am not sure I would let my chickens free on grass with something like Scott's Weed and Feed on it. You will end up eating that in your eggs*. Our Chickens love scratching through the grass clippings. Also when the compost pile cools off and it fills with worms, the chickens love going though it also.