Using Shredded Paper for Coop Litter - As Good As Wood Chips?

[catballou]

Very late to this thread, but enjoyed reading the last 17 pages!

A few thoughts:

• I have a paper shredder next to my desk in my home office, and a lawn and leaf bag next to the shredder.
  
  
• I use shredded paper in my chicken compost system. I don't put it direct on the ground, but put it in the different compost setups I have within the run.
  
  
• Recycling in many areas has been done a disservice by "single stream" systems. An awful lot of paper gets contaminated from sitting in bins and trucks with the other recyclables. Better to compost what you can!
  
  
• The "ink in paper is bad for composting" is one of those "oft repeated, never cited" things. Has anyone every seen any evidence that it's true?

I believe it's soy based ink now. I think it became the standard like 20 years ago.

 

[avjudge]

. . . My paper shredded bedding also blew all over from my manure pile.

Definitely an issue - I've heard the same from others when paper bedding was discussed on horse discussion boards. It tracks a bit over my barn floor, too. Not sure it's worse than the sawdust from pellets, but it stands out more.

When I clean out manure (chicken - the big lumps under the roost, I don't worry about the rest for now - horse or llama - rare since both of those live outside) I spread the cleanings thinly on the lawn rather than on a pile. I find brown bedding blends in OK, but other colors really show up.

Both of the above are why I rarely use cereal-type boxes that have a printed side, and are one reason I don't use white paper.

I expect when I do the big clean-out in spring or summer I'll use the mass of bedding as mulch in the vegetable garden (which may or may not have vegetables this year, I haven't been organized enough to get it back into use yet).

 

[gtaus]

UPDATE: Just dumped another 2 big plastic shopping bags of shredded paper out into the coop this afternoon. So far, there is still no smell in the coop at all. The paper shreds under the roost were piling up with frozen chicken poo, but that is normal for us in northern Minnesota in winter. I dumped a bag under the roost to cover up the poo and give it a fresh look. Looks like I have about 6 inches of paper shreds built up in the coop, so I have another 6 inches to go. I should be fine until spring cleaning.

The chickens seem to be doing just fine on the paper shreds, as compared to the wood chips I used the past 2 winters. I am very happy with my results using paper shreds this winter. Obviously, everything is frozen solid this time of year, so the big reveal will be this spring to see if the paper shreds can absorb the chicken poo and ammonia smell when things start to melt. The wood chips did a great job, I hope the paper shreds will work just as well.

 

[Iluveggers]

Do you have any pics of what this looks like? I am considering trying this next year.

 

[gtaus]

Do you have any pics of what this looks like? I am considering trying this next year.

It is bitter cold here in northern Minnesota right now, but if I make the time, I will take a few pictures. At the moment, I get in and out of the cold as fast as possible.

I grew up in Minnesota, so cold winters are nothing new to me. However, as I get older, I cannot stay outside as long as I used to when younger. The cold gets down in my chest and I will be coughing for days after. So, I limit my exposure to the cold as much as I can because I need to save myself for snow blowing the driveway if we get hit with lots of snow.

BTW, my lungs got damaged while I was serving in the Navy in an overseas assignment. So, it's not just old age creeping up on me. Not only do I now have problems with cold weather, but I also have become very sensitive to smells after that tour of duty. If Dear Wife puts on too much perfume, I will be coughing my head off, sometimes for hours, until the air clears.

The other day, I was in a store and in the same aisle as me there were a mother and daughter shopping. The younger woman had too much perfume on and I immediately started coughing. OF course, today every cough is a sign of COVID infection, so I quickly went to another part of the store to clear my lungs where nobody was shopping. I don't want to freak people out because some perfume set me off. And it is not like the perfume smell was bad, it was not, but any strong odor can set me off.

If my chicken coop had any ammonia smell, it would also trigger me. So one of my main goals is to keep the coop clean and ammonia odor free. My hypersensitive nose is a great detector in that sense.

 

[avjudge]

Do you have any pics of what this looks like? I am considering trying this next year.

I posted a picture of my coop (with its paper bedding) in post #74. I'll try to remember to get some closer shots when I'm out in the barn today.

Like @gtaus I'm waiting to see what things smell like with the spring thaw (generally a whiffy time already as months' worth of horse manure in the winter lot thaws). Since our winter run is a horse stall with the same cardboard bedding, we'll be giving it a good test.

As it turns out I have been cleaning some fraction of the bigger poops under the roosts because it's easy and satisfying - I can easily scoop them with a manure fork and the frozen golf balls make a satisfying thud as I jiggle & bounce them in the fork to encourage the microcut shreds to fall through the tines. Yes, I guess I'm easily amused. But there's still plenty of smaller bits that I hope the paper and dry winter air freeze-dry for easy clean-out in early summer,

 

[gtaus]

As it turns out I have been cleaning some fraction of the bigger poops under the roosts because it's easy and satisfying - I can easily scoop them with a manure fork and the frozen golf balls make a satisfying thud as I jiggle & bounce them in the fork to encourage the microcut shreds to fall through the tines.

The chicken poo under the roosts in my coop are frozen solid and as hard as concrete. Anything wet and then frozen to wood is not coming up until spring thaw. My winter strategy is to add fresh layers of litter in the coop, this winter using paper shreds. I have not yet had to clean out anything. The only place you can see any chicken poo is directly under the roosts. The rest of the coop is poo free as far as I can see.

I hope the paper and dry winter air freeze-dry for easy clean-out in early summer,

The thing I liked about using wood chips is that the chicken poo would dry out and disappear into the chips. It was like magic. I hope to have that same result with paper shreds. Years ago, I used straw with my birds but the straw would always get wet, moldy, and smelly. I was constantly cleaning up after the birds. Wood chips solved all those problems for me, and I hope paper shreds will work just as well.

I can get all the free wood chips I want at our local county landfill, but I am hoping that the paper shreds will work just as well - because the paper shreds should compost down much faster than wood chips when added to the compost system.

 

[Iluveggers]

I posted a picture of my coop (with its paper bedding) in post #74. I'll try to remember to get some closer shots when I'm out in the barn today.

Like @gtaus I'm waiting to see what things smell like with the spring thaw (generally a whiffy time already as months' worth of horse manure in the winter lot thaws). Since our winter run is a horse stall with the same cardboard bedding, we'll be giving it a good test.

As it turns out I have been cleaning some fraction of the bigger poops under the roosts because it's easy and satisfying - I can easily scoop them with a manure fork and the frozen golf balls make a satisfying thud as I jiggle & bounce them in the fork to encourage the microcut shreds to fall through the tines. Yes, I guess I'm easily amused. But there's still plenty of smaller bits that I hope the paper and dry winter air freeze-dry for easy clean-out in early summer,

Can’t even tell it’s paper!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I have the same problem as @gtaus concerning strong odors, even if it is an otherwise pleasant smell like perfume. Seems the spray odors are the worst but even a perfume oil can trigger a spell. Often what happens is my lungs will just lock up and I can neither inhale nor exhale, it's terrifying! This can also be triggered in a store in the laundry soap or household cleaners aisles or the candle aisle. Gain laundry products are the WORST! Febreze a close second. Chemicals, gag!

 

[Iluveggers]

I have the same problem as @gtaus concerning strong odors, even if it is an otherwise pleasant smell like perfume. Seems the spray odors are the worst but even a perfume oil can trigger a spell. Often what happens is my lungs will just lock up and I can neither inhale nor exhale, it's terrifying! This can also be triggered in a store in the laundry soap or household cleaners aisles or the candle aisle. Gain laundry products are the WORST! Febreze a close second. Chemicals, gag!

I avoid scented fabric softener b/c of my excema…too many chemicals!