Which Bedding keeps the coop the cleanest in terms of poop?

[Ridgerunner]

I was wondering which type of bedding is best for their poop so they dont get so much poop on their feet and that controls odor.
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Hi. welcome to the forum!

In my opinion the best bedding is dry bedding. There can be certain conditions that a certain bedding works better than another, but for most situations if the bedding is dry, it works. If is is wet you can have issues.

Think of bedding as a diaper. It's job is to absorb moisture and keep things dry. If poop stays wet the microbes breaking it down become anaerobic (no oxygen). Those stink and can become slimy. Yuck! If it is damp enough so those microbes can reproduce but dry enough that fresh air can get to them the microbes are aerobic (oxygen breathing). Those should give a nice earthy smell. If it is so dry it never breaks down it won't stink. If poop is allowed to build up it can keep itself wet. Wet is your enemy.

If you read enough on here you will find a lot of different things that people use. For any of those things, some people love them and some hate them. That's not surprising, we each have unique situations and manage things differently.

I'd suggest you try to find someone on here that has conditions fairly close to yours and pay attention to them. I'm pretty sure yours don't match mine. I have anywhere from 7 to over 50 chickens a year with a large walk-in coop and enough outside space that even when there are 50 I have over 40 square feet per chicken outside of the coop with weather they can go out practically every day of the year.

 

[BDutch]

I think cleaning once/week is the problem. Poop stinks in general and only gets worse if left to sit for multiple days.

Shavings should be fine (do not try cedar shavings as they are a lung irritant).

If the ventilation is perfect the poop dries up. And older poop does not smell after a day or two.

Hi I am new to the site and a new Silkie Chick Mother of 2.
They are only 2 weeks old, but I am preparing to move them into a rabbit hutch at 8 weeks old with removable trays for easy clean up.
I was wondering which type of bedding is best for their poop so they dont get so much poop on their feet and that controls odor.
I am using pine shavings right now, but dont find them to control odor. I clean the brooder once a week.
I was looking at Carefresh paper bedding with odor control. I have seen others on here use it but was wondering if there is anything else.​

Silkies tend to sleep in nesting boxing and often will not roost. I don’t know if that goes along with deep litter??

Using beddings with an odeur for chickens ?? Sounds a bit weird to me. If its a chemical odeur this might get in the chicken or the eggs?

 

[ChickNanny13]

I used PDZ this summer to keep the stink and flies to a minimum. My complaint about PDZ is that it turns into a brick when wet, so needs to be thrown out. If the coop gets wet from rain, it's a mess. But it did help with the odor, when dry. For winter, I switched over to shavings. No flies to worry about, and minimal odor on these cold days. I like the properties of shavings during the cold months, seems more cozy.

What is your normal bedding in the coop? If the coop is getting wet when it rains, that's a problem. Picture of your set up would help us understand the problem.

You can sprinkle PDZ in with the shavings. My enclosure is clay ground with about 4" shavings, sprinkle PDZ along with some DE, I rarely change out the shavings, just keep adding as needed, poop board gets about an 1" of PDZ that I scoop daily.
Does rain alot here, I hang shower liners (heavy duty) around my enclosure, I close it up and draw it back depending on the weather. It stays dry inside unless we get days of rain & the water wicks. Solved that with Pellet Bedding (horse) under the shavings ... So far it's been working.

 

[so lucky]

When we get a surprise blow up from the south, rain can blow in. It's not normally a big problem. But even a big juicy poop will make a hard patty out of the PDZ. It reminds me of scoopable cat litter. No, the bag didn't get wet.

 

[aart]

When we get a surprise blow up from the south, rain can blow in. It's not normally a big problem. But even a big juicy poop will make a hard patty out of the PDZ. It reminds me of scoopable cat litter. No, the bag didn't get wet.

That's very strange.
Anything else mixed in with the Sweet PDZ?
Was it granulated(on left) or powder(on right)?

 

[ValerieJ]

I think the problem is in only cleaning the brooder once a week. When I'm brooding chicks, the brooder is cleaned every day and sometimes that doesn't seem like it is often enough. So, if you keep it clean, pine shavings work fine.

The deep litter method might be right for you if you don't have the time for daily cleaning. I've never tried that, but some people here say it works great. I think it depends on your set up as to what options you have.

Is the rabbit hutch the permanent chicken coop for you? Sharing pictures of your set up might help folks help you out with the solution.

 

[so lucky]

That's very strange.
Anything else mixed in with the Sweet PDZ?
Was it granulated(on left) or powder(on right)?
View attachment 1970310

It's the granular type. Originally it was not mixed with anything, but it did get mixed with straw at some point.

 

[aart]

It's the granular type. Originally it was not mixed with anything, but it did get mixed with straw at some point.

Just baffling...was thinking about it this morning as I sifted wet PDZ thru the basket, no caking at all. Was it just the one bag you tried? Thinking it had to be a glitch.

 

[SavvySilkieMom]

I think the problem is in only cleaning the brooder once a week. When I'm brooding chicks, the brooder is cleaned every day and sometimes that doesn't seem like it is often enough. So, if you keep it clean, pine shavings work fine.

The deep litter method might be right for you if you don't have the time for daily cleaning. I've never tried that, but some people here say it works great. I think it depends on your set up as to what options you have.

Is the rabbit hutch the permanent chicken coop for you? Sharing pictures of your set up might help folks help you out with the solution.

Yes, the hutch will be indoors actually because here in Miami it is extremely hot in summer time. It will be by a window for sunshine.
There will only be 2 silkies and its a 5x3 hutch and has an upper compartment for nesting box with a ramp. It has 2 trays one on top and one on the bottom that are removable for cleaning.
I havent bulit it yet so no pictures but as soon as I do I will post.

 

[SavvySilkieMom]

Thanks everyone for your replies ! I will try the PDZ