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

[fat brown hen]

We moved to use cardboard, and some of them eat it now. So I put cardboard under, then on top put a plastic sheet on top of it, then finally newspapers. I have to remove them as soon as the sun comes up so they can not see it to eat it. This is my current bedding material.

It might not be anything to worry about. My chickens eat shredded paper (and before that, straw and wood shavings) all the time. They have a cecum for digesting cellulose, and a bit of fiber is actually good for them.

Did your pullet with the hard crop become impacted, or did it go away by itself?

 

[Mother of Chaos]

How do you know how much PFAS is in your eggs?

In her country (the Netherlands), you can get your eggs tested.

 

[gtaus]

The neighbors might wonder if I've murdered somebody.

 

[gtaus]

What is PFAS in eggs?

OK, I'll admit, I was not quite sure what PFAS was and why it would be in eggs. Sounded bad, though. Anyways, for people like me who want to know what PFAS is, here is what I found...

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PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) are synthetic chemicals that have been widely used in industrial applications and consumer products. They are often called "forever chemicals" because they do not break down easily in the environment and can accumulate in living organisms.

PFAS in Eggs: What You Need to Know​

Recent studies have found high levels of PFAS in backyard eggs, particularly in areas with environmental contamination. In the Netherlands, researchers discovered that home-produced eggs contained significant amounts of PFAS, prompting health officials to advise against eating them. The contamination may come from soil, water, or even earthworms, which absorb PFAS and pass them to chickens.

Health Risks of PFAS Exposure​

Immune system suppression – PFAS can weaken the body's ability to fight infections.
Reproductive and developmental issues – Linked to fertility problems and fetal development concerns.
Increased cancer risk – Studies suggest a connection to kidney and testicular cancers.
Liver and cholesterol problems – PFAS can disrupt liver function and raise cholesterol levels.

Are Store-Bought Eggs Safe?​

Commercially produced eggs are regulated and monitored, meaning they contain much lower levels of PFAS and are considered safe to eat. The contamination issue primarily affects backyard chickens, where exposure to PFAS is unpredictable.

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Now that I know what PFAS is, I checked online to see if there was any contamination where I live. Fortunately, no. But I live out in the boonies on a lake where we don't have any commercial industries dumping chemical waste into the water or environment.

 

[paintedChix]

Shredded papers, fine sugarcane mulch, hemp, cardboard and newspaper

I used to use shred papers for my chicken bedding materials. I have plenty of it from the office.

Sugarcane mulch was bad, the lice/mites infestation.

Then one day, one of my pullets crop was as hard as a tennis ball, she was having her fill of the tasty shred papers...Grrrrr

We then used hemp, and geeeeee...many of my chickens enjoy eating hemp......grrrrr

We moved to use cardboard, and some of them eat it now. So I put cardboard under, then on top put a plastic sheet on top of it, then finally newspapers. I have to remove them as soon as the sun comes up so they can not see it to eat it. This is my current bedding material.

Now I am at the stage, it they die, they die. No more can be done. It is just simply too hard.

WOW!

I've started chicks in the brooder (s) on shredded paper/junk mail/cardboard. Besides keeping the feeders full, I m pulling dandelions with dirt & putting in brooders. Provides natural grit. They do taste the shred, the I see them spit it out.




I'm sorry yours are filling their crops like that.

 

[paintedChix]

I recently started using a single sheet of cardboard under the roost. Swap it out every few days, no sweeping or raking. Now I have a stack of poopy cardboard, not sure what to do with it.

Compost, compost, compost!!

 

[Bawkbok]

in the chicken run is about 12 inches higher than the ground level outside the chicken run fence. No muddy feet or walking around in chicken poo for my girls.

We use the deep litter method. Our level is currently about 5 inches above ground level. We installed wood planks on the inside of the run to help keep the material in since they all like to scratch around the edges. As I watch them scratch around the outer edges of their run, I still see dirt flying out of the run. I'm curious as to how you keep 12 inches of matter inside the run?

 

[paintedChix]

I might try deep bedding in the turkey coop. They don't scratch and peck in their soiled bedding the way chickens do.

If they don't scratch or peck like chickens, you may find that the poo doesn't "auto-magically" dissappear.

 

[gtaus]

As I watch them scratch around the outer edges of their run, I still see dirt flying out of the run. I'm curious as to how you keep 12 inches of matter inside the run?

You are right, I don't. I have a heap of mostly fine composted material on the outside of the fence. Every once in a while, I scoop up all that overflow on the outside of the fence and sift it out for mixing as final compost. It also makes great top mulch for my raised garden beds.

I had thought about adding some kind of boards around the fence inside the run, to keep all that stuff from overflowing outside, but in the fall, I will dump all my leaves in there and it might get to be 18 inches deep. It drops down to about 12 inches over the winter. I would have to have some boards that were taller than that to keep everything in. I did not want to block my view of the chickens.

Yeah, I don't like the look of all that overflow compost on the outside of the fence, but it's better than putting out a tall boarder to keep everything in but block my view of the chicken TV.

Oh yeah, I mentioned that I can scoop up that stuff with a shovel, which I do, but during the summer after I have done my initial clean up, I just run my small push lawn mower with a bagger over that overflow by the fence and it vacuums up most of the debris. That works well to keep the fence line clean.

 

[gtaus]

We use the deep litter method. Our level is currently about 5 inches above ground level.

I think you would call my chicken run composting system a deep litter method for the chicken run. I just dump all my leaves, grass clippings, weeds pulled from the garden, wood chips, and just about anything else organic into the chicken run. All my old coop dry deep bedding litter gets dumped into the chicken run for composting. The chicken run litter is full of life. My chickens are digging in that compost litter all day finding juicy worms and tasty bugs to eat. They are very happy scratching and pecking all day outside.