# What do yu use for Chicken bedding?



## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

I use straw, but after reading all the problems people are having in their gardens with all the pesticides in straw and feed ( switching feed to non gmo and pesticide free for the layers and already feed organic when I raise meat chickens) I was thinking I need to use something else. Pine shavings? Any suggestions?


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## haley4217 (Dec 16, 2012)

The following is a cut and paste from a thread that I posted to in the Chicken Forum, which was a discussion about keeping the smell down in chicken coops and the types of bedding people use. It seems to have been divided between using pine shavings, sand, or straw. I learned from the thread that some were adding straw to their pine shavings to encourage their flock to scratch up the bedding and move things around. I have since done that and believe that putting a little straw on top of the shavings is the way to go.


"When I started my flock I read a lot about "deep liter" as a way to control the smell in the coup. After 2 1/2 years I am still sold on this method to control smell in the coup area. What I can't stress enough is when it is described as deep liter, it does need to be deep. So, first off my coop is 12x14 and I keep between 12 and 18 chickens. They have additional areas to get out into during the day, so the coop only sees use at night and in foul fowl weather.

I put two bags of Tractor Supply pine shavings on the floor after I've dusted with DE. About two weeks later I dust with DE and put one more bag down. The hens will scratch around and stir up the shavings and turn over the poop covered top shavings into the deep liter. The shavings make excellent insulation for them in winter or summer. In the heat of summer 100 degrees they all make nests on the floor digging deep into the shavings to keep cool.

The liter will keep the coop pleasant for quite a while. If the chickens don't keep it turned over and fluffed up I go in the coop about twice a month and turn it myself. I've been reading in other threads that adding a little hay to the litter will entice the hens to scratch it up. I may add another bag after about 3 or 4 months depending on when I'm planning on cleaning the coop out. Somewhere after 6 or 7 months, depending on the time of year (spring / summer sooner fall / winter later) I get the wheel barrow and leaf fork and get 90 percent of the old litter up. The start all over with DE and fresh shavings.

The side benefit of this is that the chicken poop has time to compost in the shavings and is now not to hot to put down on your plants. Plus the shavings help to put organic matter in the soil. Watch though if you use pine shavings it might bump your PH up a little.

Presuming I use 8 bags a year (4 every six months) this is costing me about $48 per year for shavings, but I find the control of smell and insects worth the investment."


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

We use straw, have used shavings or wood chips in the past. Surely there is an organic source of straw nearby if that is what you want. The small square bales of wheat straw are cheap and convenient. We use our own and so we know what is what but pesticide free should not be hard to find.


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## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

cowboyhermit said:


> We use straw, have used shavings or wood chips in the past. Surely there is an organic source of straw nearby if that is what you want. The small square bales of wheat straw are cheap and convenient. We use our own and so we know what is what but pesticide free should not be hard to find.


I wish we had an organic place nearby to purchase straw. The closest I found is 30miles away and they want $5 per bale. I can get reg straw nearby for $4 a bale.

I kinda do the deep liter method with my layers. But I clean their coop out more in the summer, but mine are only in in the evening also. Now my broilers, I clean the coop everyday once they get a little bit bigger. Call me anal, but I am going to eat them and I put all my time and money in them, I want a good healthy bird.


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## Eric_Cooper (Mar 13, 2013)

I use pine shavings bought cheap in our farm supply store and packed tight, easy to clean out as well


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

I read the title a little too quickly, I thought it read:

What do you use for chicken BREEDING? . oops:

I was going to reply with: A ROOSTER! :teehee:


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

We use pine shavings ... most of the time.


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## GaryS (Nov 15, 2011)

My favorite was course sawdust, and since I heated with wood I usually created a ready supply with my chainsaw. If I ran low, I'd use leaves, and a few times I bought commercial litter that was made from paper.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Some people will freak out about the saw dust from a chainsaw depending on what kind of oil you use, and they do kind of have a point.
We use saw dust from other saws and planers etc but also made shavings or wood chips with a machine, some do a better job than others, some can chop up coarser straw and similar materials to make easier to use bedding.


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

We use straw, we buy straight from the farmer and it's pretty clean (not organic but not too bad). We clean our pens fortnightly and only use a fairly thin layer on the floors. My main concerns in the pens are keeping the eggs clean and making manure removal easy. Everything we use as bedding on the farm is part of our compost system, straw suits us well. It's also about cost, a bale of straw (large square bale) costs us $50.00, it's the cheapest mulch/bedding we can find within this area. We occasionally use old alfalfa hay for bedding as it makes excellent compost, if we can get it cheap enough.


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## Stealthbobber06 (Jun 26, 2011)

I am just starting out, with 4 hens, and I am using shredded paper.....I shred all my mail, paper, etc. And am planning on putting the used stuff in a compost pile......


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## fondini (Mar 18, 2012)

I like a good rice bedding, but mashed taters is always good too.


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## HoppeEL4 (Dec 29, 2010)

We were anticipating a move, so we got rid of all our chickens. Stupid move, now we are staying and I have to start from scratch (no pun towards chicken lingo intended!!). Of course when they are chicks in the brooder, just typical pet pine shavings. In the barn, wheat straw. I have been told to certainly never use grass hay, could have the potential to start a mite infestation.

Straw is inexpensive to use for larger areas, of course if you just have a small coop and run, I am sure shavings are good. Our chickens always loved it when we cleaned things out, left the pile to mulch, and they could go through it, kick it around and find worms and bugs in it, plus their efforts helped break it down faster.


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## RUN1251 (Mar 15, 2012)

We have an 8' by 8' coup with an 8' by 24' run. I put down 2 yards of rough pine mulch total in the coup and run. It gives the girls enough to dig in and make beds to escape the summer heat. Twice a year I clean it all out and put it on my garden. We never have any odor and the mulch contains great fertilizer.


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## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

Guess I will probably stick with straw. Hopefully I can find some better straw.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

We used to use lawn clippings, they loved it!


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## thenance007 (Oct 8, 2012)

Have any of you heard of the Korean Natural Farming deep litter system? Here is a link to one article, but if you Google "Korean Natural Farming" you will come up with many more.

http://www.kumuainafarm.com/keeping-chickens-the-korean-natural-farming-way/

Basically you inoculate your litter with friendly bacteria that convert the poo into compost and keep it from smelling. They use it for pigs too. I used it under my rabbit cages that I kept in my basement, and it really worked!


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## siletz (Aug 23, 2011)

We started with straw when we first had chickens, but since it's not absorbant it seemed to be very messy. We use shredded paper as much as we can find. We have family save theirs for us as well. It's free, absorbant, and composts well. When we don't have enough paper, we use pine shavings.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

siletz said:


> We started with straw when we first had chickens, but since it's not absorbant it seemed to be very messy. We use shredded paper as much as we can find. We have family save theirs for us as well. It's free, absorbant, and composts well. When we don't have enough paper, we use pine shavings.



Wheat straw is much more absorbent than shavings! Don't have time to find a specific link but here is one, scroll down half a page if you are interested.
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/horses/facts/06-105.htm


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

We use wheat straw when we can get it, or sometimes a little hay that wasn't good for horses. Sometimes pine shavings.



Magus said:


> We used to use lawn clippings, they loved it!


It takes me two weeks to mow the grass, because I only do small areas. I mow an area, then let them out immediately on it, they LOVE the fresh cut crass!


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## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

LincTex said:


> We use wheat straw when we can get it, or sometimes a little hay that wasn't good for horses. Sometimes pine shavings.
> 
> It takes me two weeks to mow the grass, because I only do small areas. I mow an area, then let them out immediately on it, they LOVE the fresh cut crass!


Mine LOVE when I mow also. Sometimes I actually have to mow around them cause they won't move.


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