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

[Sally PB]

Thanks for the update!

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

thanks for the update. happy that it's sill working out. I'll be trying the method in the summer.

 

[MACCanadianCoop]

UPDATE: 7 APR 2022. Just a nice observation that I wanted to pass on to those of you interested in this thread. We had a few days of mid 40F's temp so things started to thaw out in the coop, and by stuff, I mean mainly the mound of chicken poo underneath the roosting bar. Frozen poo does not smell, but a mound of fresh thawing out poo might. So, last week, I threw on some fresh paper shreds on all that poo underneath the roosting bar.

Today, I had another bag full of paper shreds to dump out into the coop, and I expected to cover the mound of poo underneath the roosting bar again. To my surprise, there was no longer a mound of poo under the roosting bar. All the frozen poo seems to have automagically disappeared into the paper shreds and everything was down to level with the rest of the litter in the coop. Best yet - no smell!

We are the end of a 3 day April snow storm here, so I dont'know how much longer it will be before we actually get some spring time temps that stay, but I will try to update at least once more when I spring clean the coop litter out and dump it into the chicken run. Right now, I have about 8 inches of snow left in the run, so it might be at least a few weeks.

Bottom line, the paper shreds are performing much better than I had hoped.

Reading through this thread has been a great resource. I have a near limitless supply of paper shreds through work.

I'm wondering how often you have to clean out the coop bedding. Apologies if you already said.

 

[gtaus]

Reading through this thread has been a great resource. I have a near limitless supply of paper shreds through work.

IMHO, free coop litter is the best litter. If you can get paper shreds through work, that is fantastic! I make my own paper shreds at home, but it seems like there is almost an unlimited amount of paper products I can shred just from home use.

I'm wondering how often you have to clean out the coop bedding. Apologies if you already said.

The past 2 winters, I would clean out the wood chips coop litter in the spring after the snow melts. I plan on doing the same with the paper shreds this year - maybe in the next ~4 weeks, or less, where I live.

Right now, I can tell you that there is still no smell in my coop even though the paper shreds have been in the coop since OCT-NOV of last year. Every couple of weeks I have been dumping another kitchen garbage bag (13 gallon size) full of paper shreds into the coop, and that has been good enough to keep everything looking clean and smelling fresh. Well, actually, the paper shreds have no real smell.

I compost all my spent coop litter, so I have it in my mind to clean out the coop litter twice a year. Once in the spring after the snow melts, and once again in late fall just before the snow starts to fall. In reality, I don't think I would even have to clean out the coop twice a year. I go by the smell, and if the coop litter smells, it is time to be gone. Having said that, cleaning out the coop just twice a year has been more than enough to keep the coop odor free. But I want to use the spent coop litter to make compost, so I clean out the coop twice a year regardless.

Because my goal with the coop litter is to turn it into compost for my gardens, I expect that the paper shreds will compost down much faster than the wood chips coop litter I used in the past 2 winters. So, I am looking forward to verifying that idea this summer.

When I used wood chips as coop litter, I would just throw the wood chips out into the chicken run compost system on top of all the run litter. With paper shreds, I will have to cover them so they don't blow all over the yard. I will be either digging a shallow trench or covering the paper shreds some other way so I don't have confetti all over the yard.

At any rate, I got my wood chips for free, and they worked great. This year I am using paper shreds I make at home, and they are working out great. Both are free options to me and both work great. Since I am currently using paper shreds for the coop litter, I am now using my free wood chips mainly as covering for the pathways in the garden and as mulch around plants.

And, as I have mentioned before, using these free resources that would otherwise end up in a landfill, is just my small part on being more green and friendly to the environment.

 

[MACCanadianCoop]

IMHO, free coop litter is the best litter. If you can get paper shreds through work, that is fantastic! I make my own paper shreds at home, but it seems like there is almost an unlimited amount of paper products I can shred just from home use.



The past 2 winters, I would clean out the wood chips coop litter in the spring after the snow melts. I plan on doing the same with the paper shreds this year - maybe in the next ~4 weeks, or less, where I live.

Right now, I can tell you that there is still no smell in my coop even though the paper shreds have been in the coop since OCT-NOV of last year. Every couple of weeks I have been dumping another kitchen garbage bag (13 gallon size) full of paper shreds into the coop, and that has been good enough to keep everything looking clean and smelling fresh. Well, actually, the paper shreds have no real smell.

I compost all my spent coop litter, so I have it in my mind to clean out the coop litter twice a year. Once in the spring after the snow melts, and once again in late fall just before the snow starts to fall. In reality, I don't think I would even have to clean out the coop twice a year. I go by the smell, and if the coop litter smells, it is time to be gone. Having said that, cleaning out the coop just twice a year has been more than enough to keep the coop odor free. But I want to use the spent coop litter to make compost, so I clean out the coop twice a year regardless.

Because my goal with the coop litter is to turn it into compost for my gardens, I expect that the paper shreds will compost down much faster than the wood chips coop litter I used in the past 2 winters. So, I am looking forward to verifying that idea this summer.

When I used wood chips as coop litter, I would just throw the wood chips out into the chicken run compost system on top of all the run litter. With paper shreds, I will have to cover them so they don't blow all over the yard. I will be either digging a shallow trench or covering the paper shreds some other way so I don't have confetti all over the yard.

At any rate, I got my wood chips for free, and they worked great. This year I am using paper shreds I make at home, and they are working out great. Both are free options to me and both work great. Since I am currently using paper shreds for the coop litter, I am now using my free wood chips mainly as covering for the pathways in the garden and as mulch around plants.

And, as I have mentioned before, using these free resources that would otherwise end up in a landfill, is just my small part on being more green and friendly to the environment.

Thank you for the detailed reply!

I'm trying to decide on deep litter vs deep bedding for my coop. I'm in the building process still. My coop currently has a 1/2" plywood base. The info on bedding is a bit conflicting. Most of what I've read says that unless you have a dirt floor, you must remove as much poop as possible regularly in order to keep everything completely dry in the coop. But I think I read that your coop has a wood base?

Here is my situation:

*Small backyard flock of 6 hens (arriving in the fall)
*8x7' foot with 8x10-12' covered run (still under construction) that the birds will live in full time
*Full time working parent, so the least amount of maintenance, the better
*In the "snowbelt" of Central Eastern Ontario, so we have below freezing temps and a few feet of snow for 4-5ish months of the year
*Coop will *not* be artificially heated

 

[Iluveggers]

Do you think it would be ok to use shredded paper in a brooder? Or too tempting for the babies to eat?

 

[3KillerBs]

I'm trying to decide on deep litter vs deep bedding for my coop. I'm in the building process still. My coop currently has a 1/2" plywood base. The info on bedding is a bit conflicting. Most of what I've read says that unless you have a dirt floor, you must remove as much poop as possible regularly in order to keep everything completely dry in the coop. But I think I read that your coop has a wood base?

Have you read my article yet? I tried to go into not just what separates Deep Bedding from Deep Litter, but what conditions make Deep Bedding possible or set you up for failure.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

 

[MACCanadianCoop]

Have you read my article yet? I tried to go into not just what separates Deep Bedding from Deep Litter, but what conditions make Deep Bedding possible or set you up for failure.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

Oo thanks! I'll go read it now

 

[gtaus]

I'm trying to decide on deep litter vs deep bedding for my coop.

Although these terms often get mingled together, I refer to deep litter as an active composting system inside the coop where the organic material is breaking down. These deep litter systems are mostly done on coops with dirt floors. In theory, the deep litter would generate some heat from the composting process.

I use a dry deep bedding system in my coop. My elevated coop has a plywood floor covered with linoleum. I try to keep my coop as dry as possible because my chickens live inside the coop during the snow months. I built my coop to hold as much as 12 inches of coop litter (wood chips, leaves, paper shreds, etc...). I usually start off with about 3-4 inches of clean coop litter in the fall and add additional litter/bedding throughout the winter, to cover the frozen poo and to keep everything looking clean and smelling fresh. In general, a dry deep bedding system will automagically absorb the chicken poo.

Most of what I've read says that unless you have a dirt floor, you must remove as much poop as possible regularly in order to keep everything completely dry in the coop. But I think I read that your coop has a wood base?

I don't remove any chicken poo or dry deep bedding at all during the winter. Frozen poo is as hard as concrete, but it does not smell. I just throw fresh bedding on top of the frozen poo and mostly it just disappears into the bedding (wood chips, paper shreds, etc). I don't use the deep litter system because it requires moisture to activate the composting system. I try to keep my coop as dry as possible here in northern Minnesota because I view moisture in the coop as a negative for my winter climate.

My plywood floor is covered with linoleum and up the walls to about 12 inches. So, I can have as much as 12 inches of deep bedding in the coop without any problems. I typically start off in the fall with 3-4 inches of fresh bedding, and add additional bedding once or twice a month. Using paper shreds this winter, I am up to about 7 inches in the coop at the moment (started with 3-4 inches of paper shreds last OCT/NOV).

Here is my situation:

*Small backyard flock of 6 hens (arriving in the fall)
*8x7' foot with 8x10-12' covered run (still under construction) that the birds will live in full time
*Full time working parent, so the least amount of maintenance, the better
*In the "snowbelt" of Central Eastern Ontario, so we have below freezing temps and a few feet of snow for 4-5ish months of the year
*Coop will *not* be artificially heated

I would love to have a covered run, but that is still on my wish list. My chcikens live in their coop for almost 6 months out of the year. They will not go outside if there is snow on the ground in the chicken run. I am trying to figure out a good way to cover a portion of my run so the chickens can go outside and enjoy a snow-free portion of the run.

I have tried a number of methods of keeping poultry, but have found my best success with using dry deep bedding in the coop which requires me to clean it out only twice a year, but I could probably get by with just once a year cleaning if I wanted. Years ago, I used straw as bedding, but found that I had to clean that out all the time. When I switched to wood chips, that was a lot less maintenance (twice a year cleaning). This year, with paper shreds, I am having similar results as wood chips and expect to continue my twice a year clean out. For me, that's not much maintenance.

I have adequate ventilation in my coop, mostly above the chickens heads when resting on their roosting bar. Big thing is to make the coop draft free and ensuring that drafts are not coming up from underneath the sleeping birds. I don't heat my coop. A chicken's body heat is 105F and they can trap warm air in their feathers against their body as long as the coop is draft free. My birds have survived days long stretches of -35F to -40F in the dead of winter. Of course, you have to have cold hardy chicken breeds, but my birds have done well.

I also keep the chicken feeder and waterer inside the coop - out of the cold and blowing elements outside. I have a 3 gallon metal water fount with a metal base heater that keeps the water from freezing even at -40F. To me, having fresh water available 24/7 is key to keeping my animals alive. I only have to refill my 3 gallon waterer maybe ~10 days (with wood chips). Since I switched to paper shreds, I find that I have to clean out the waterer fount more often, and now I am refilling the 3 gallon water maybe every ~7 days. The chickens kick up the paper shreds more than the heavier wood chips, and sometimes the waterer get shreds in the drinking fount.

My 5 gallon PVC feeder is refilled about ~10 days, and I only fill it half way at a time. I also feed my chickens our kitchen scraps and leftovers. They love that stuff, but it is mainly a treat and not meant to replace their nutritionally balanced commercial feed.

Like you, one of my main goals was to minimize the maintenance I have to do with my chickens. So, I clean the deep bedding in the coop twice a year, I have to refill the waterer and feeder about every 7-10 days, but gather eggs and check on the health of my chickens every day. All in all, I think I spend, on average, about 5 minutes per day on maintenance for my backyard flock.

Also, at my age, my coop setup is big enough to house my chickens without any problems. So, my chickens live on my schedule. If I sleep in late, it's not a big problem. They can get outside when I'm ready. If I have to go out of town for the day, there is nothing wrong with letting them stay inside the coop all day (they do it all winter, anyway). A large part of my enjoyment of having a backyard flock is that my setup does not require me to be a slave to caring for the chickens.

 

[gtaus]

Do you think it would be ok to use shredded paper in a brooder? Or too tempting for the babies to eat?

I always lay down sheets of paper towels in the brooder for the first few days, while the chicks are learning where to get their food and water. After that, I take out the paper towels and I have used wood chips in the brooder. I have never used paper shreds in a brooder, so I really don't know how it would work. Chickens are not very smart, but at least the adult chickens know the difference between paper shreds and "real" food. I think chicks would know the difference, too, but I really don't know.