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

[gtaus]

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

That would be a cross cut shredder. Maybe your brand of shredder just works better than my cross cut shredder. If I do more than a number of newspaper sheets in a row, the cutter rollers start to jam up.

 

[gtaus]

I wasn't claiming McDonalds food was healthy.

Yeah, I don't think many people would argue that point. Having said that, I think many of the fast food chains are now offering options that are more healthy for a person. It's been a few years since I ate at a fast food restaurant, but I remember ordering salads and such instead of a double cheeseburger and fries, for example.

FWIW, tonight we are throwing some chicken leg quarters on the grill (not my chickens), and I just picked a basket full of lettuce, some Swiss Chard, and Russian Red Kale from my raised bed filled with chicken run compost. Half of our meal this evening is coming from food I grew at home, in garden beds filled with chicken run compost made by my chickens. Homegrown organic food using homemade compost from the chickens. I would think that is pretty healthy.

 

[gtaus]

UPDATE: For those interested, I turned over a few pitchforks of the litter where I buried my spent coop paper shreds out in the chicken run. It has been maybe 2 [months] out in the run, covered with about 6 inches of grass clippings. Some of the shreds have already disappeared, but there are still lots if shreds to be seen and so the compost is not done yet.

EDITED: The coop paper shreds have been out in the run for about 2 months, not 2 weeks.

 

[Sally PB]

It shreds very differently in one direction than the other. One way, it easily makes long narrow shreds. At 90 degrees to that, it tries to rip into weird wide chunks.

Late to answer this, but the reason is because of the directional grain of the paper. Most papers have it. It tears easily "with" the grain, but not well "across" the grain.

 

[gtaus]

It's been a while since I had anything new to say on this topic. But, today, I was in our local church charity thrift shop and found a used Fellowes 12 sheet cross cut shredder for only $2.00! Bought it without even trying it out. Got it home, runs as good as new. Amazon currently sells this unit (as far as I can tell on the model number) for about $240.00! Everything looks the same as my thrift store model, except this new unit has additional stickers on the top.

I suspect they must have marked this shredder down so much because there was a red blinking light on the top of the shredder - which usually indicates something wrong with the unit. However, I downloaded the owners manual and discovered there was a switch on the side of the unit to flip and the light was reset. No more flashing red light! Good as new!

This is my third used shredder currently in use. Over the years, I have worn out a shredder or two and they do break down eventually. So, this shredder will be stored as a backup in case my other shredders die. Well, actually, this is the best shredder I now have so I might put the 8 sheet and 10 sheet shredders in the closet and just use this one until it wears out.

I have about 3 large kitchen garbage bags full of shredded paper to put into the coop. Time to get ready for winter. We have our first winter storm forecasted for this Thursday, so time is running out. Will be taking out the chicken coop shredder paper I used this summer into the chicken run and putting the new shredded paper on the coop floor.

FWIW, I am still very impressed with using paper shreds as coop litter and am to the point where I prefer using paper shreds to wood chips, leaves, etc... that I used in the past. So, I am going to use paper shreds in the coop again this winter.

 

[Sally PB]

I might try it again. One of my birds decided to eat a bunch of it. I swear she had pica. Maybe she's gotten over it...?

 

[gtaus]

I might try it again. One of my birds decided to eat a bunch of it. I swear she had pica. Maybe she's gotten over it...?

Well, I have never had that problem with 15 different birds. None of them seem interested in eating any paper shreds. But, I do have layer feed available 24/7 in a hanging 5 gallon bucket, so it's not like they ever go hungry.

 

[Sally PB]

Well, I have never had that problem with 15 different birds. None of them seem interested in eating any paper shreds. But, I do have layer feed available 24/7 in a hanging 5 gallon bucket, so it's not like they ever go hungry.

I have food available from coop open to lockup and this girl has a healthy appetite. I have no idea why she thought pieces of paper were good to eat. She was the only one. And she's not the "picked on" one either.

Maybe I'll shred some paper, take it out in my pocket at snack time, and offer it to her when she gets on my lap. She's the only one who does that too.

Aw, mom, that's a mean trick.

 

[gtaus]

Maybe I'll shred some paper, take it out in my pocket at snack time, and offer it to her when she gets on my lap. She's the only one who does that too.

Not sure, just thinking aloud, but if the paper shreds are presented as a treat, maybe that little chicken brain thinks paper shreds are a treat and eats them. When I dump bags full of paper shreds into the coop, I don't think any of my chickens consider it a treat to eat.

In any case, I was a big fan of using wood chips, which worked great, but now I think I like paper shreds even better. They are lighter to tote around, and they compost a lot faster when dumped out in the chicken run. Paper shreds are also less dusty compared to wood chips. But wood chips do look better, IMHO, than paper shreds and occasionally I get some fresh pine to chip up and those wood chips smell great.

 

[Sally PB]

I get some fresh pine to chip up and those wood chips smell great.

LOVE the smell of a freshly opened bale of pine.