what do all u cold climate chicken owners use for bedding in your coop

[Megs]

i use wood shavings (cant remember what kind) in my wood and cement floored coops

it gets in the single-double digets in the negative where i am, generally no lower than -5ish, but with wind chills as low as -20 (so far, gets a bit worse depending on wind etc)

 

[JimWWhite]

We also use pine shavings over a linoleum floor. One it acts as an insulation for these cold nights we've been having recently. We clean out the big chunks also every day and change out the whole thing every couple of weeks. With winter it may not be as important but we don't like going more than a couple of weeks or so without changing it out. We're probably too picky about keeping it clean by that's us.

 

[lady and her girls]

Pine shavings over a dirt floor and once a week I raked in what was deposited. then I topped it with several more bags of shavings. I did this for a month and found what was underneath the fresh shaving was decomposing and heating the coop! The bedding was about 8 inch or more deep.

 

[kent318]

How do you tell the differance from alfalfa and other hay?

 

[Bedste]

pine shavings? Where do you get pine shavings and do you also use DE in your layers to keep the poop dried out incase it thaws?:

 

[HeatherFeather]

This is only my first year-I'm using straw and hay and loved it in the summer, but now I feel like its always damp. Its very cold here.

what do you mean alfalfa is bad for chickens? We have alfalfa hay, and I've heard of people feeding alfalfa pellets. Alfalfa is high in calcium and protein for a vegetable, and i thought that was good. Please explain!!!!

 

[Marbleheader]

Surprised nobody mentioned pellets yet. I have aspen pellets over linoleum over a plywood floor raised 36 inches off the ground. The pellets are great -- they don't get all overt the place outside the coop like shavings do. Plus they sya very dry -- I have a poop board though, so the pellets stay pretty clean.

I'm a little worried about the cold though -- they don't seem like they generate any heat. It's 14 degrees out in the coop right now, so I guess I'll find out.

 

[Paraclete 2]

Hmmm: I use deep litter method and my shavings are from 12 to 20 inches deep. I only clean my coop once a year. I never pick up poop and there is little to none to be found in my coop. If deep litter is done properly the birds will till the poop under where it will compost into the shavings and I can pick up the shavings in my hand a you'll find no poop or moisture on my hand. Once a year I remove half of the shavings for my garden and start the process all over again. Deep litter has to be over 12 inches to work effectively. I have many customers and tour groups who come and tour the coops, (four of them) they are shocked at how clean the chickens keep the coop. Paraclete 2 P.S. Its the composting of the poop that heats the coop and the girls will dig down and bury themselves in it and keep mighty warm.

 

[cw]

Quote:
good alfalfa hay will have a wonderful alfalfa smell, it will be greener, have a thicker stem, and last but not least, it will not be cheap