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

[gtaus]

It's also helpful that you confirm the depth of litter that builds, as being about a foot. I'll need to create a barrier to hold it in at the doors but that shouldn't be hard to do.

Well, you need to keep in mind that my chickens live in their coop for the snow months - almost 6 months here in northern Minnesota without going outside. I built my coop to hold up to 12 inches of deep bedding. So, I toss on a thin fresh layer of shreds when needed and pace it out over the winter to end up with 10-12 inches by springtime.

There is nothing magic to the 12 inches in my setup. That's just the capacity I prebuilt into my coop design. If I wanted to remove some shreds during the winter, I could do that and keep maybe just a nice 3 inch layer of shreds in the coop. I only clean out my coop twice a year. I'll let the deep bedding litter get up to my 12 inch capacity between clean outs.

The leaves I want to dry out are not drying at all and the hay in the greenhouse (ready for use) feels damp, whereas all this scrap paper is lovely and dry.

Because it gets so cold where I live, I don't want to add any moisture to my coop litter. I like the paper shreds because they are easy to make, are pretty much dust free, and are bone dry. If you live in a warmer climate, then all that damp litter might start to grow mold. Unless you plan on building a deep litter system in the coop, dry litter is better.

I had good success with using dry leaves in the coop as litter, but they were very dusty compared to either wood chips or paper shreds. Any free resource for coop litter is worth considering.

Also, nothing wrong with mixing whatever free resources you have for litter. One point in time I had wood chips, leaves, dried grass clippings, and paper shreds all mixed together in the coop. As long as everything is dry, it seems to work just fine. Nothing really starts to compost until I toss it outside in the chicken run where it gets rained on.

I'm reassured by your idea of 'bringing the free-range to them'

I live on a lake and we have hawks and Bald Eagles overhead all the time. Anyone who free ranges their chickens around here are known as former chicken owners. So, I made a nice big run for the chickens and fill it up with grass clippings, leaves, and other stuff. My chickens are safe and seem plenty happy.

I'd wondered about the time it would take for paper and card to break down.

I checked my shredded paper coop litter that I tossed out into the run at about one month, and you could still see the shreds, but about 2 months outside and it was pretty well composted. Of course, things like adequate rain will speed up the process.

If we don't have any rain in a week, or so, I'll hit the chicken run with a lawn sprinkler to encourage composting. Dry litter does not compost much at all, so I pay attention to the moisture of the litter in the run. Also, I encourage worms and bugs to live in the chicken run compost litter and they need that wrung out sponge consistency in the litter.

My chickens will spend all day outside in the summertime, scratching and pecking in the compost, looking for those worms and tasty bugs.

One additional thought, if you use paper shreds as coop litter and then later toss it out into the chicken run, you might want to either cover the paper shreds with some grass clippings or leaves, or maybe dig a trench and then cover the shreds. If you don't cover those shreds, they will blow around the yard. Been there... did that.

This spring I dumped the shredded paper coop litter into the run and covered it up with fresh grass clippings. Covering the shreds kept everything inside the chicken run and gave a nitrogen boost to the composting in place. I don't mind the looks of paper shreds in the coop, but I do prefer to look at grass clippings in the chicken run covering the shreds.

 

[3KillerBs]

Have you summarized your ex

Well, you need to keep in mind that my chickens live in their coop for the snow months - almost 6 months here in northern Minnesota without going outside. I built my coop to hold up to 12 inches of deep bedding. So, I toss on a thin fresh layer of shreds when needed and pace it out over the winter to end up with 10-12 inches by springtime.

There is nothing magic to the 12 inches in my setup. That's just the capacity I prebuilt into my coop design. If I wanted to remove some shreds during the winter, I could do that and keep maybe just a nice 3 inch layer of shreds in the coop. I only clean out my coop twice a year. I'll let the deep bedding litter get up to my 12 inch capacity between clean outs.



Because it gets so cold where I live, I don't want to add any moisture to my coop litter. I like the paper shreds because they are easy to make, are pretty much dust free, and are bone dry. If you live in a warmer climate, then all that damp litter might start to grow mold. Unless you plan on building a deep litter system in the coop, dry litter is better.

I had good success with using dry leaves in the coop as litter, but they were very dusty compared to either wood chips or paper shreds. Any free resource for coop litter is worth considering.

Also, nothing wrong with mixing whatever free resources you have for litter. One point in time I had wood chips, leaves, dried grass clippings, and paper shreds all mixed together in the coop. As long as everything is dry, it seems to work just fine. Nothing really starts to compost until I toss it outside in the chicken run where it gets rained on.



I live on a lake and we have hawks and Bald Eagles overhead all the time. Anyone who free ranges their chickens around here are known as former chicken owners. So, I made a nice big run for the chickens and fill it up with grass clippings, leaves, and other stuff. My chickens are safe and seem plenty happy.



I checked my shredded paper coop litter that I tossed out into the run at about one month, and you could still see the shreds, but about 2 months outside and it was pretty well composted. Of course, things like adequate rain will speed up the process.

If we don't have any rain in a week, or so, I'll hit the chicken run with a lawn sprinkler to encourage composting. Dry litter does not compost much at all, so I pay attention to the moisture of the litter in the run. Also, I encourage worms and bugs to live in the chicken run compost litter and they need that wrung out sponge consistency in the litter.

My chickens will spend all day outside in the summertime, scratching and pecking in the compost, looking for those worms and tasty bugs.

One additional thought, if you use paper shreds as coop litter and then later toss it out into the chicken run, you might want to either cover the paper shreds with some grass clippings or leaves, or maybe dig a trench and then cover the shreds. If you don't cover those shreds, they will blow around the yard. Been there... did that.

This spring I dumped the shredded paper coop litter into the run and covered it up with fresh grass clippings. Covering the shreds kept everything inside the chicken run and gave a nitrogen boost to the composting in place. I don't mind the looks of paper shreds in the coop, but I do prefer to look at grass clippings in the chicken run covering the shreds.

Have you summarized your practices and experience into an article yet? It would be very useful to people thinking about using paper.

 

[gtaus]

Have you summarized your practices and experience into an article yet? It would be very useful to people thinking about using paper.

I'll certainly consider it, but I'm pretty busy right now. Maybe later this winter if things slow down. I'll also have to check if someone already has posted an article on using paper shreds as coop litter. This forum thread was pretty much my experiment and results of using paper sheds last winter thru this spring. Seeing how successful I think it was, it might be worth an article posting my results.

 

[Jenni Hen]

All that is helpful and thank you very much for your advice.

Mould is always an issue here because we rarely get dry cold weather.

I only started keeping chickens a couple of years ago and have been learning ever since! I didn't consider deep litter when I worked out how to build the run but I think a depth of about 6 inches would work. I put a board across the 'back door' yesterday and it worked fine, holding the shreddings back and easy to hop over.

The door opens into a little extension that was their back garden last spring, when they were allowed to be in a meshed enclosure but not out free-ranging. I close the door at night for security. I've recently discovered that, if I delay opening the door in the morning, they queue up to be let out - and seem much happier than if they have all the space all the time!

 

[Jenni Hen]

I'll certainly consider it, but I'm pretty busy right now. Maybe later this winter if things slow down. I'll also have to check if someone already has posted an article on using paper shreds as coop litter. This forum thread was pretty much my experiment and results of using paper sheds last winter thru this spring. Seeing how successful I think it was, it might be worth an article posting my results.

I think it would be valuable, because to me it was something entirely novel and it was a while before I understood how it could work. Now it seems easy.

I only considered paper pellets because of the horrified expression of the nurse at the cataract clinic, when I asked about cleaning out chicken coops immediately post-op!
Then I only considered shredded paper after discovering the price of paper pellets, £17.50 ($21) for a bag that would just about do the poop trays and nest boxes!

 

[gtaus]

I only started keeping chickens a couple of years ago and have been learning ever since!

You can read all you want on raising chickens, or watch tons of YouTube videos, but nothing beats actual experience in raising chickens to teach you valuable lessons. What works great for someone in southern Florida will not probably work at all for me here in northern Minnesota. Most of my valuable learning lessons have been associated with my location and weather.

Having said that, I was glad I learned as much as I could by reading and watching YouTube videos. I have made some modifications to my original setup but I think I also saved myself a lot of failures by starting off with some great recommendations that I have found here and elsewhere. Still learning, and finding better ways to raise my backyard flock where I live. It's a journey.

I didn't consider deep litter when I worked out how to build the run but I think a depth of about 6 inches would work. I put a board across the 'back door' yesterday and it worked fine, holding the shreddings back and easy to hop over.

I use deep bedding (dry, non composting) paper shreds litter in the coop. Because our winters here in northern Minnesota may extend up to almost 6 months of snow, I had to build my chicken coop with the idea that my birds would be living inside it for almost half the year. I did not want to have to clean out spent coop bedding in the middle of winter, and talking to other local chicken owners, I came up with the design to hold as much as 12 inches of deep bedding accumulated over the winter months. It works for me.

Since I don't expect my dry, deep bedding to compost in the chicken coop, the depth of the litter is not really an issue. 6 inches, like in your example, would be fine.

In the springtime, after the snow melts and everything thaws out, I clean out the coop bedding and toss it into the chicken run. There, the paper shreds litter, along with leaves, grass clippings, etc... already in the chicken run turn into a deep litter (moist, composting system) and everything composts in place.

In an active composting system, depth matters more. My chicken run litter fills up to about 18 inches in the fall after I dump in all the leaves from the yard, but over the winter it decomposes and drops down to about 12 inches, where it stays most of the summer as the lower layers turn into black gold compost and I just continue to add organics on top.

I tell people that I have composting chickens and get fresh eggs as a bonus. In my setup, using the chicken run to make compost for the garden, I figure I got more $$$ value from the chicken run compost than from the eggs. Paper shreds just compost down faster than other types of coop bedding I have used, including wood chips, pine shavings, and leaves. Eventually, everything will break down and decompose, but paper shreds just break down faster.

 

[gtaus]

I only considered paper pellets because of the horrified expression of the nurse at the cataract clinic, when I asked about cleaning out chicken coops immediately post-op!

I, too, am an RN. I am sure your nurse was concerned about dust and chicken dander in the air in the chicken coop. I'm sure her advice was sound and you would be better off not cleaning out the coop until you are fully recovered.

Paper shreds are much less dusty than other coop litter/bedding I have used. But chicken dander is always going to be an issue regardless of your type of bedding used. So, protect those eyes. Until fully recovered, I would suggest tossing on fresh layers of paper shreds into the coop as necessary to keep everything looking great and smelling fresh. That's what I do for almost 6 months in our winters. When your eyes are fully healed, it's easy to clean out the accumulated paper shreds at that time.

Then I only considered shredded paper after discovering the price of paper pellets, £17.50 ($21) for a bag that would just about do the poop trays and nest boxes!

Yeah, I saw some paper pellets at our local Fleet store to be used, I think, as horse bedding/litter. They were not cheap. Well, at least not compared to free paper shreds I can make at home. Actually, I advocate using just about any free resource for litter that you have available. All the better if you can compost that litter when you are done with it.

I don't have poop trays in my setup. Just a thick layer of deep bedding inside the coop and I clean it out twice a year.

You can use paper shreds in the nest boxes, but, I have found that a few paper shreds will always seem to glue themselves to the freshly laid egg. Not a big to clean off, but I still use pine shavings in the nest boxes. Pine shavings do not stick to a freshly laid egg.

For a short while, I had an older hen that was sleeping in the nest box overnight. Of course, I would find deposits of chicken poo in the nest box every morning. So, in that nest box, I just used paper shreds rather than wasting pine shavings. I had to clean out that nest box every morning. Eventually, that hen recovered from whatever was going on with her and she no longer sleeps in the nest box. So, I filled it back up with pine shavings.

I had a bag of pine shavings that I bought many years ago, so that is why I use them in the nest boxes. But, I have also used wood chips in the nest boxes and they worked good, just not as soft and fluffy as pine shavings. I suppose leaves and dried grass would work as well, too. I don't think the chickens care all that much as long as the nest box is clean, safe, and comfortable.

 

[NatJ]

I had a bag of pine shavings that I bought many years ago, so that is why I use them in the nest boxes. But, I have also used wood chips in the nest boxes and they worked good, just not as soft and fluffy as pine shavings. I suppose leaves and dried grass would work as well, too. I don't think the chickens care all that much as long as the nest box is clean, safe, and comfortable.

Yes, nestboxes also do fine with hay or straw or dried grass, or dry leaves, or dry pine needles. Nestboxes are a lot like coop bedding in that respect: many things can work just fine, and free is always a good place to start.

 

[gtaus]

Yes, nestboxes also do fine with hay or straw or dried grass, or dry leaves, or dry pine needles. Nestboxes are a lot like coop bedding in that respect: many things can work just fine, and free is always a good place to start.

Thanks for that confirmation. I have only had laying chickens for about 3 years, and have not tried all types of nest box litter. But, basically, everything I have tried has worked out OK.

 

[Jenni Hen]

I've used grass from my veg patch in summer. If it's not actually among the veg, I let it grow flower stalks then pull the whole lot, lay it out to dry and cut off any roots before bagging it up. I usually chop it up a bit before putting it in the nest box. They love it if the grass has seeded and they find treats in the bedding!