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

[gtaus]

LOVE the smell of a freshly opened bale of pine.

I just remembered that when I used freshly chipped green wood, like the fresh pine, it smelled great, but it grew mold. I think it was from the moisture content in the fresh wood chips. Anyway, not good to see mold in the coop. I have never seen mold grow in my paper shreds or aged wood chips.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Two bucks! Dude, you lucked out!

 

[gtaus]

Two bucks! Dude, you lucked out!

Well, some luck for sure. But I also have been hitting the thrift shop for over a year and always keep my eye out for any paper shredders for sale. Recognized the steal at that price and immediately snatched it up! It's been over a year since I picked up my last paper shredder from the thrift store. Patience pays off, sometimes.

I like to bring up the good deal because I think some people might be thinking that paper shreds sounds like a good idea for coop litter, but they really don't want to spend $50, $100 or more on a new shredder. Paper shreds are not free if you start off paying $100 for a shredder. So, I like to tell people that I currently have 3 shredders, pre-owned, that I bought at the thrift store for $3, $5, and this latest one was $2.

I know some people are lucky to get free shredded paper from their work office, but for others, maybe an inexpensive used shredder from a thrift store is a low cost way to get into using paper shreds for coop litter.

But, yeah. two bucks was a heck of a deal. I did feel lucky. Thanks.

 

[avjudge]

Paper shreds are not free if you start off paying $100 for a shredder.

Not free, but every bag I shred reduces the per-bag cost! (My shredder was just $100 at Costco.) I’m now bedding a stall and the coop for the 2nd winter. No one lives in the stall but it holds a horse now and then for a few hours, or 2 llamas overnight now and then, and it looks like once again I have failed to build a covered run so it will be the chickens’ run again this winter until the snow goes. With the price of bedding I figure I’m ahead by now.

 

[Jenni Hen]

I've just had cataract operations and needed less dust in the coops. One bag of dust-free paper pellets would do one coop and cost £17.50! So I started shredding.
At the moment we have loads of scrap paper and cardboard but not so much of dry leaves and stuff for shredding to make litter. If I can use the paper and cardboard I can stop worrying about how to keep the run comfy all winter.
I extended the run in anticipation of the avian flu restrictions, which could be in place for 6 months, so I could need quite a lot of litter.
Thank you to all who have shared their experiences.

 

[gtaus]

Not free, but every bag I shred reduces the per-bag cost! (My shredder was just $100 at Costco.)

Yeah, I did not mean to say that it would not be worth it to buy a paper shredder to make paper shreds coop litter, but rather that I try to get by with using whatever free stuff I have first. Like many people nowadays, I shred almost all my mail with my name and account numbers on it. So, I initially invested in a shredder years ago. But in the past couple of years I have been patient and found some good used shredders at the thrift store for almost nothing.

Where I live, out in the country, we have to haul our garbage and recyclables into town. So, whatever paper and light cardboard I can shred at home just reduces the time, money, and effort into traveling the 30 miles round-trip to the nearest garbage/recycle center. Plus, I enjoy repurposing the paper into coop litter, then composting it in the chicken run litter system, then using it my gardens to grow people food.

 

[gtaus]

I've just had cataract operations and needed less dust in the coops. One bag of dust-free paper pellets would do one coop and cost £17.50! So I started shredding

Paper shreds are about the least dusty litter I have used. Wood chips work good too, but as they break down they get more dusty. I like leaves as litter, but they can really be dusty, as will straw and hay. Anyways, glad you like paper shreds and it works for you.

At the moment we have loads of scrap paper and cardboard but not so much of dry leaves and stuff for shredding to make litter. If I can use the paper and cardboard I can stop worrying about how to keep the run comfy all winter.

I get enough junk mail, paper, light cardboard, and newspapers at home to supply me with paper shreds for coop litter through the winter. Just dumped a couple large bags of paper shreds in the coop in the past few days. Typically toss in a fresh bag or two twice a month and that seems to keep my coop looking fresh throughout the winter. I just let it pile up and in the spring, I'll have maybe 10-12 inches of paper shreds coop litter to clean out. Makes great compost in the chicken run after being used all winter as coop litter.

Depending on how deep your coop litter is, you can often just fluff it up to refresh it if you start to run out of supply. Might buy you some time. I toss in chicken scratch in the coop and just let my chickens scratch and peck through the litter. The bad stuff works its way to the bottom and the lighter, fluffier, cleaner paper shreds work themselves to the top.

 

[Jenni Hen]

That's handy to know, that I can let it pile until spring. I thought I had to rake it out and start again to keep it ok but I only seemed to rake out the ok stuff - that fits with what you say about the bad stuff working its way downwards. Also I was always worrying about where the next batch of litter was coming from.

One problem I have sometimes in winter, is that the groundwater level rises and the soil becomes damp even without being rained on. If I can let the litter get deeper then it'll be easier to maintain the top layers nice and dry.
I do grow veg and the run litter seemed to do a lot of good last year, when made with shredded twigs and leaves, so it's good to know that paper will do the same.
Mine get scratch mix in the afternoon and they love to scratch more than anything else.

 

[gtaus]

That's handy to know, that I can let it pile until spring. I thought I had to rake it out and start again to keep it ok but I only seemed to rake out the ok stuff - that fits with what you say about the bad stuff working its way downwards. Also I was always worrying about where the next batch of litter was coming from.

I tell everyone that I start off with maybe 2-3 inches of (paper shreds) coop litter in the fall, add a thin, fresh layer maybe every 2 weeks, and by springtime I have somewhere between 10 and 12 inches of coop litter to clean out. It never smells in my coop. The fresh litter seems to stay on top and the chicken poo, for the most part, works its way down to the lowest layers of coop litter.

The top layers of coop litter always smell fine, but when I get down to the bottom, then it's definitely time to put on a dust mask and put up with some smell at the bottom. But, that's OK. All that used coop litter is great for the chicken run compost.

One problem I have sometimes in winter, is that the groundwater level rises and the soil becomes damp even without being rained on. If I can let the litter get deeper then it'll be easier to maintain the top layers nice and dry.

I would think that if you had your run litter high enough, the top layers would be pretty much dry while the lower layers would be soaking up the water and starting to compost. That is what goes on in my chicken run composting system, and it works just fine. The chickens pretty much maintain the top layers of the run litter with their constant scratching and pecking for food. Lots of worms and bugs in an aged chicken run compost litter system.

I do grow veg and the run litter seemed to do a lot of good last year, when made with shredded twigs and leaves, so it's good to know that paper will do the same.
Mine get scratch mix in the afternoon and they love to scratch more than anything else.

Paper sheds are a great source of carbon material, and they will compost faster than twigs and leaves. During the summer, I dump all my grass clippings in the run for the nitrogen and the chickens naturally mix the run litter while they scratch and peck for food. When I toss in my daily chicken scratch, I try to toss it on a new spot each day, which give the chickens even more incentive to work that area.

Because of aerial predator concerns, I don't let my chickens free range. But they seem plenty happy scratching and pecking in the chicken run compost system as I bring the free range to them in the form of wood chips, grass clippings, leaves, and just about anything else organic from yard cleanup. They don't eat the litter, of course, but the juicy bugs and worms that live in the litter must be good to eat. It seems to be a healthy ecosystem with lots of life in it.

 

[Jenni Hen]

Thank you very much for such a carefully-considered reply. I'd wondered about the time it would take for paper and card to break down. I'm reassured by your idea of 'bringing the free-range to them' now that I can't let them out, probably for months (due to avian flu restrictions).
It's also helpful that you confirm the depth of litter that builds, as being about a foot. I'll need to create a barrier to hold it in at the doors but that shouldn't be hard to do.
I've never let the litter age because it wasn't deep enough to have a grubby layer and a hygienic layer but I did look enviously at the deep litter that a friend uses, thinking it looked much nicer from a chicken pov.
The weather at the moment is very damp and still. The leaves I want to dry out are not drying at all and the hay in the greenhouse (ready for use) feels damp, whereas all this scrap paper is lovely and dry.