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

[BigBlueHen53]

The paper shreds we use are not newspaper, it's shredded paper from the office where my DH works. He brings it home in big bags, already shredded. It's much sturdier than newspaper and holds up very well in the chicken coop, probably for months. We don't use it in the run, as the run is still thickly covered with grass and other vrgetation.

 

[Iluveggers]

Sandwich bread has more ingredients and will usually mold before they stale. This can sometimes be weeks after purchase.

We call that bread “fake” or “processed” bread, lol. Kindof how McDonald’s “hamburgers” don’t rot in the fridge for like years, but real burger meat will get gross in just a few days. Not being rude by any means! The additives in processed foods are things we try to avoid. Reversed a few health ailments since we’ve swapped for pure ingredients s

 

[gtaus]

One trick with newspaper is to get it wet. It tears much easier when wet. In a 5 gallon bucket sitting for a bit, it may even just turn to mush and not need to be torn.

I watched a YouTube video where a guy was basically tearing up newspaper, putting it into a 5 gallon bucket, filling it up with water, then mixing it up into a slush with a paint mixer. Then he pressed the water out when he dumped the newspaper slush into a fire brick mold. He set those aside to dry for a few weeks, and then he could use them us fire logs in fireplace or stove. Probably a good use for old newspaper if you don't mind all the manual work making the fire bricks. (He may have also added some sawdust to the slurry, but I cannot remember exactly).

 

[gtaus]

My shredded is only a 5 sheeter and newspaper works the best on it.

Interesting. Is it a strip, crosscut, or micro shredder? I have crosscut shredders and the newspaper shreds eaisly, but wraps around the cutter rollers until it jams the shredder.

 

[gtaus]

The paper shreds we use are not newspaper, it's shredded paper from the office where my DH works. He brings it home in big bags, already shredded. It's much sturdier than newspaper and holds up very well in the chicken coop, probably for months. We don't use it in the run, as the run is still thickly covered with grass and other vrgetation.

I would think the only thing easier than shredding paper at home is just getting already bagged paper shreds from the office. What a great way to reuse waste material. Probably saves the company money too if they pay buy the bag for garbage disposal.

Yeah, I would not dump paper shreds into my run if I still had nice grass or other vegetation growing in there. My chickens removed that consideration a long time ago. So my run truly looks like a composting system now, full of leaves and grass clippings for the most part.

 

[gtaus]

Reversed a few health ailments since we’ve swapped for pure ingredients s

Food is the first medicine. The older I get, the more I have been trying to eat more natural foods. I can't afford the high priced organic produce at the store, but I do now grow lots of the fresh food that Dear Wife and like to eat in season. Since I got a backyard flock, I have not bought any eggs at the store for almost 3 years. I don't know if my eggs are any better than the store eggs, but I like to think they are.

I have not been able to replace all our store bought foods, but we are reducing the amount of groceries we have to buy. it's a small step, but I feel good about it.

Again, using waste paper shreds in the coop as bedding, then dumping the shreds in the run along with grass clippings, leaves, and wood chips, to turn into compost, the chickens scratch and peck in the compost looking for worms and bugs to eat while adding chicken poo to enrich the compost, using that chicken run compost to feed the garden soil, the garden soil feeds the plants I grow, and we eat the produce from the plants. That's what I call a great system.

 

[NatJ]

how McDonald’s “hamburgers” don’t rot in the fridge for like years, but real burger meat will get gross in just a few days. Not being rude by any means! The additives in processed foods are things we try to avoid.

In the fridge? Raw hamburger might get gross, but cooked hamburgers last just fine in my fridge. It doesn't matter what source the hamburger came from, or whether it was cooked in a pan or on the grill or at McDonalds, it still lasts until it gets eaten up (sometimes a week or so.)

At room temperature, McDonalds hamburgers do not rot if they dry out (like jerky or crackers). Mold and bacteria don't grow when things are more than a certain amount dry.
Of course that would only work in certain climates, but it's common enough to account for the stories hanging around on the internet.
https://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab-why-mcdonalds-burgers-never-rot
https://www.today.com/food/mcdonalds-burger-fries-shows-no-sign-rot-after-6-years-t60026

 

[SubArcticFowl]

Interesting. Is it a strip, crosscut, or micro shredder? I have crosscut shredders and the newspaper shreds eaisly, but wraps around the cutter rollers until it jams the shredder.

This is what it is and what the shreds look like. They are strips about 0.5 - 1.5 inch long.

 

[Iluveggers]

Food is the first medicine. The older I get, the more I have been trying to eat more natural foods. I can't afford the high priced organic produce at the store, but I do now grow lots of the fresh food that Dear Wife and like to eat in season. Since I got a backyard flock, I have not bought any eggs at the store for almost 3 years. I don't know if my eggs are any better than the store eggs, but I like to think they are.

I have not been able to replace all our store bought foods, but we are reducing the amount of groceries we have to buy. it's a small step, but I feel good about it.

Again, using waste paper shreds in the coop as bedding, then dumping the shreds in the run along with grass clippings, leaves, and wood chips, to turn into compost, the chickens scratch and peck in the compost looking for worms and bugs to eat while adding chicken poo to enrich the compost, using that chicken run compost to feed the garden soil, the garden soil feeds the plants I grow, and we eat the produce from the plants. That's what I call a great system.

Excellent post!

@NatJ Here is an internet story about McDonald’s & ingredients.

https://foodbabe.com/everyone-still-eats-mcdonalds-even-wont-admit/

 

[NatJ]

@NatJ Here is an internet story about McDonald’s & ingredients.

https://foodbabe.com/everyone-still-eats-mcdonalds-even-wont-admit/

I wasn't claiming McDonalds food was healthy. It definitely has some problems. I was only saying the hamburgers that don't spoil were being mis-represented (don't blame preservatives for the one effect they did NOT cause.)