For the past 2 years, I have been using wood chips as the base of my dry deep litter in my chicken coop. The wood chips work great and I highly recommend them for anyone considering the deep litter method. This year, however, I am trying a twist on the idea. After I did my fall cleaning of the coop, removing all my wood chips for a fresh base to carry me over the winter, I decided to use my shredded paper I had saved in some big bags. So far, I have so say, I am very pleased with my results.
First of all, I try to minimize garbage we haul to the landfill. I came across a used 12 sheet paper shredder at our local thrift store for $5.00. A new model of that brand costs about $80. I had smaller shredders at home, about 5-8 sheets, but thought that a 12 sheet shredder for $5.00 was a good deal and would allow me to shred more and heavier types of paper. Previously, I have been shredding most of our paper at home and throwing it in compost piles with greens. But now that I have chickens, I was wondering if I could use shredded paper in the coop as litter.
I find that normal office paper and most junk mail shreds up fine. But you have to be sure to remove any plastic windows and staples. I don't want my chickens eating that stuff, or eventually adding plastic or staples mixed into my garden as compost. I also shred all our light cardboard boxes, like cereal boxes, and find that mixing that light cardboard along with normal office paper makes a better litter mix. I can also shred normal box cardboard with my 12 sheet shredder, but I have to cut the heavy cardboard into strips and feed it down the "credit card" slot on the shredder. But my 12 sheet shredder eats up the normal cardboard boxes we get from Amazon shipments.
I also shred our old newspapers, but I find the quality of newspapers to be very low compared to the other papers. It comes out all stringy and wraps around the shredder rollers. It seems to mat down more easily than the other types of shredded paper. I would not recommend using only shredded newspaper, but it works OK in the mix with all the other types of shredded paper.
I have a normal sized 13 gallon kitchen waste basket that I fill up with shredded paper maybe every 2 weeks. This is just the right amount for me to dump on top of the older shredded paper in the coop. I just dump it in a pile and let the chickens spread it out. Seems to work good for me. I have sometimes dumped the pile underneath their roost, as that is mainly where all the chicken poo accumulates, but I don't know if that is necessary. My goal is to always let the chickens do most of the work. They seem to like it, and I don't mind less work to do for myself. Sometimes I'll throw some chicken scratch into an area that I want the chickens to turn over the litter. As they scratch and peck for the chicken scratch, they turn over and mix up the shredded paper. The heavier, soiled paper works it way down to the bottom leaving the fresher paper on top.
So far, for about 2 months, I have not been able to detect any smell in the coop. So, from that aspect, I think the shredded paper is working as good as my wood chips I used the past 2 years. We will see how well it holds up as our winter is just getting started. I probably won't really know if this was a success or not until next spring, when the poo thaws out....
Well, I wanted to post this thread as something to consider as coop litter for those who do not have access to free wood chips. One thing I know is that come spring, when I clean out the shredded paper and dump it into my chicken run composting system, is that the shredded paper will turn into compost much, much, faster than my wood chips. What a better way to get rid of all that junk mail and old bills than to shred them up, let the chickens poo on them, and then bury them in the garden to grow some good people food?
Would love to hear any comments, pro or con, on using shredded paper with your chickens. Also, would really like to hear if there is a better way to shred old newspapers. I really don't like the way the newspapers can muck up the rollers on my shredder. Thanks.
First of all, I try to minimize garbage we haul to the landfill. I came across a used 12 sheet paper shredder at our local thrift store for $5.00. A new model of that brand costs about $80. I had smaller shredders at home, about 5-8 sheets, but thought that a 12 sheet shredder for $5.00 was a good deal and would allow me to shred more and heavier types of paper. Previously, I have been shredding most of our paper at home and throwing it in compost piles with greens. But now that I have chickens, I was wondering if I could use shredded paper in the coop as litter.
I find that normal office paper and most junk mail shreds up fine. But you have to be sure to remove any plastic windows and staples. I don't want my chickens eating that stuff, or eventually adding plastic or staples mixed into my garden as compost. I also shred all our light cardboard boxes, like cereal boxes, and find that mixing that light cardboard along with normal office paper makes a better litter mix. I can also shred normal box cardboard with my 12 sheet shredder, but I have to cut the heavy cardboard into strips and feed it down the "credit card" slot on the shredder. But my 12 sheet shredder eats up the normal cardboard boxes we get from Amazon shipments.
I also shred our old newspapers, but I find the quality of newspapers to be very low compared to the other papers. It comes out all stringy and wraps around the shredder rollers. It seems to mat down more easily than the other types of shredded paper. I would not recommend using only shredded newspaper, but it works OK in the mix with all the other types of shredded paper.
I have a normal sized 13 gallon kitchen waste basket that I fill up with shredded paper maybe every 2 weeks. This is just the right amount for me to dump on top of the older shredded paper in the coop. I just dump it in a pile and let the chickens spread it out. Seems to work good for me. I have sometimes dumped the pile underneath their roost, as that is mainly where all the chicken poo accumulates, but I don't know if that is necessary. My goal is to always let the chickens do most of the work. They seem to like it, and I don't mind less work to do for myself. Sometimes I'll throw some chicken scratch into an area that I want the chickens to turn over the litter. As they scratch and peck for the chicken scratch, they turn over and mix up the shredded paper. The heavier, soiled paper works it way down to the bottom leaving the fresher paper on top.
So far, for about 2 months, I have not been able to detect any smell in the coop. So, from that aspect, I think the shredded paper is working as good as my wood chips I used the past 2 years. We will see how well it holds up as our winter is just getting started. I probably won't really know if this was a success or not until next spring, when the poo thaws out....
Well, I wanted to post this thread as something to consider as coop litter for those who do not have access to free wood chips. One thing I know is that come spring, when I clean out the shredded paper and dump it into my chicken run composting system, is that the shredded paper will turn into compost much, much, faster than my wood chips. What a better way to get rid of all that junk mail and old bills than to shred them up, let the chickens poo on them, and then bury them in the garden to grow some good people food?
Would love to hear any comments, pro or con, on using shredded paper with your chickens. Also, would really like to hear if there is a better way to shred old newspapers. I really don't like the way the newspapers can muck up the rollers on my shredder. Thanks.
