The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: wannabesmallholder on February 15, 2018, 09:29:30 pm
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What type of bedding does everyone use for chickens? Do you have a different type of bedding in her nest boxes to in the main house? Do you put newspaper underneath? I use Aubiose bedding for horses and rabbits and love it - presumably this will be ok for the chickens? Should I put straw in the nest boxes or just aubiose in there too?
Thanks!
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I use dried common bracken in the nest boxes. They tangle together and my ladies can therefore not empty the nestboxes as they did when I used straw. I read that historicly it was used to prevent lice, so I gave it a try and liked it.
In the rest of the house I use wood shavings.
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If you have access to it, sand is excellent in the coop. I just use straw in the nestboxes
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If you have access to it, sand is excellent in the coop. I just use straw in the nestboxes
Not excellent for the enviroment: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/feb/27/sand-mining-global-environmental-crisis-never-heard (https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/feb/27/sand-mining-global-environmental-crisis-never-heard)
It's better to use a renewable resource than a non-renewable one. :)
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We use wood shavings on top of a feed bag in the nest boxes- the bag acts as a cushion and stops cracked eggs if the shavings are moved by the hen. Easy to spot red mite as well.
In the coops we now use newspaper, simply to reduce the cost and make daily poo-picking easy. But we have had to reduce the height of the perches to just 6" off the floor because we started to get cases of bumble foot, as the newspaper doesn't soften the impact of feet on the coop floor. Poo goes on the compost heap and the newspaper, once sufficiently soiled, goes in the dustbin. Some breeds go for months without new papers, others they last just a week.
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The newspaper will rot down quite quickly on the composts heap.
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I loved when we got free papers through the post because they made a great layer in nest boxes. Now I just use straw through out the coop and egg box.
I do add sheets of newspaper under the straw and under that diatomaceous earth.
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Our system is a bit different, but works well. The bottom of the henhouse gets a decent layer of either shavings or hemcore. Then above that, there is a droppings tray, and above that are the perches. Nestboxes are filled with straw.
There is a hatch at the same height as the droppings tray, which a wheelbarrow fits underneath.
To clean out, we just open the hatch and scoot everything off the droppings tray and into the wheelbarrow. Then the hemcore from the floor gets shovelled up to the droppings tray and replaced with fresh.
I have also started emptying the office shredder under the perches, which seems to rot down ok eventually.
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Dengie bedding.
It smells great and seems to be very absorbent. We find that they last longer between cleans than when we used shavings and it's lovely and soft.
We use it in with the quail too and they love to lie in it.
Works well in the nest boxes and cushions the eggs.
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If you have access to it, sand is excellent in the coop. I just use straw in the nestboxes
Not excellent for the enviroment: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/feb/27/sand-mining-global-environmental-crisis-never-heard (https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/feb/27/sand-mining-global-environmental-crisis-never-heard)
It's better to use a renewable resource than a non-renewable one. :)
The poo is picked using a cat litter scoop so it doesn't require replenishing very often. It is even washable with some effort so in theory, once you put it in the coop you can use the same sand indefinitely. It also provides a dry sand bath for the hens to use whenever they choose. The sand isn't actually destroyed by using it as a substrate as it is when used for glass etc. For me, I would consider the carbon footprint of transporting in straw/woodshavings etc. worse than collecting a few buckets of sand from a local beach.
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If you have access to it, sand is excellent in the coop. I just use straw in the nestboxes
Not excellent for the enviroment: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/feb/27/sand-mining-global-environmental-crisis-never-heard (https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/feb/27/sand-mining-global-environmental-crisis-never-heard)
It's better to use a renewable resource than a non-renewable one. :)
The poo is picked using a cat litter scoop so it doesn't require replenishing very often. It is even washable with some effort so in theory, once you put it in the coop you can use the same sand indefinitely. It also provides a dry sand bath for the hens to use whenever they choose. The sand isn't actually destroyed by using it as a substrate as it is when used for glass etc. For me, I would consider the carbon footprint of transporting in straw/woodshavings etc. worse than collecting a few buckets of sand from a local beach.
It's not very hygenic to reuse the sand, or are you going to boil it once a week? Or swap it at the beach endangering wild birds health?
Of course you get your wood shavings and straw localy, if you can't produce it yourself.
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I have also started emptying the office shredder under the perches, which seems to rot down ok eventually
All my office working friends bring me their cross shredded paper in huge bags for the floor of my garage/hen shed/coop - whatever you want to call it.
Goes in bottom of nest boxes too with hay on top as the mucky beggars poop in that and the paper gets damp. All gets composted in compst bin or the raised beds (2.5 feet deep)
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LOL, once again this debate proves that smallholding is absolutely context specific!
Since Clarebelle lives in Orkney (lots of sandy beaches but very few trees), her "Best Possible Environmental Option", to use the correct jargon is quite clearly beach sand. It's not in short supply on Orkney, and can easily be disposed of after use by putting on the garden or whatever, since a little will go a long way.
Now, I'm not sure about the sand situation in Sweden, but I'd hazard a guess that for Lingon, the most environmentally friendly option would be sustainably sourced wood shavings.
Likewise, since Doganjo and myself have a ready supply of shredded office paper, it makes sense for us to use that and to subsequently compost it.
So really the best way to read threads like this is not to read them as "what's better, A or B?", but really "what does everybody else do, and is that better for my own situation than what I currently do?" :thumbsup: .
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Actually, sand is very hygienic in that sort of circumstance. The chicken poo clumps the same way that it would in cat litter and can be easily removed everyday, it takes about 5 minutes to go round the whole coop and remove the poo. There is no organic matter to harbour pests, fungus or molds and nothing decomposing in a hard to reach corner and in fact allows the chickens to reduce their own pest burden through dust bathing. As I said, it is possible to wash it but I generally don't bother. When I change the sand I compost it and reuse it in my garden and replace it with local sand, this is done maybe once a year and I don't even feel a little bit guilty about that. I think that, compared to other substrates the environmental impact is tiny. My hens are happy, healthy and I have never had a problem with pests and disease. You are obviously entitled to reduce your carbon footprint any way you choose, however, I think i'll carry on doing what I'm doing, as it is my informed choice.
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It's not in short supply on Orkney, and can easily be disposed of after use by putting on the garden or whatever, since a little will go a long way.
Now, I'm not sure about the sand situation in Sweden, but I'd hazard a guess that for Lingon, the most environmentally friendly option would be sustainably sourced wood shavings.
Wherever you are on the planet, it's still a non-renewable resource. If we are to save the planet, we have to start using our brains more and not just think short sighted. Orkneys have grass, hay makes a good, far more hygenic and renewable bedding.
Actually, sand is very hygienic in that sort of circumstance. The chicken poo clumps the same way that it would in cat litter and can be easily removed everyday, it takes about 5 minutes to go round the whole coop and remove the poo. There is no organic matter to harbour pests, fungus or molds and nothing decomposing in a hard to reach corner and in fact allows the chickens to reduce their own pest burden through dust bathing. As I said, it is possible to wash it but I generally don't bother. When I change the sand I compost it and reuse it in my garden and replace it with local sand, this is done maybe once a year and I don't even feel a little bit guilty about that. I think that, compared to other substrates the environmental impact is tiny. My hens are happy, healthy and I have never had a problem with pests and disease. You are obviously entitled to reduce your carbon footprint any way you choose, however, I think i'll carry on doing what I'm doing, as it is my informed choice.
You actually think sand from the beach is free of organic material? Then let me tell you that it is not. On top of that, hens are dustmakers, so that sand you think it's so clean, why not look at it through a microscope and grow some of it in a petri dish? It was a bit fun that you compared clay (cat litter) to sand, they do not have the same physical properties.
Your choise is not informed.
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I use a blend of chopped rape and wheat straw for both the floor of the house and nest boxes. The hens love it. I used to use easibed which was fab too and only changed to the straw as it was cheaper.
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I really do appreciate the way you feel about the environment, but I really don't appreciate the way you feel as though you have a right to judge me. Feel free to add your two cents to any discussion on this forum but please stop directly targeting me and calling me out on my choices. I stand by my assertions and still feel as though I make the right choice for my situation. I've been able to provide suitable justifications which stand up as well as yours to scrutiny, whether you believe that to be true or not.
You obviously like to feel as though your extremely knowledgeable so I'll give you a bit more. Hay is not common in Orkney and is actually at such a premium that people would be shocked to learn I used it as bedding rather than valuable animal feed. Straw is also not easy to come by. As for it being non re-new able, again, I'll just give you a bit more information so your better informed next time you want to be insultingly judgemental; My land is basically sand, I have sand pits where I take my sand from, I then use this sand back on my land when i'm done with it. But even if it was direct from the beach, its not being taken from the planet, turned into something else, it's still sand.
I also work as a horticulturalist and know all about organic matter, what you are talking about within sand is not the same as what I am talking about in organic substrates. As for comparing clay with sand, I'm glad that gave you a laugh, but I didn't mean they were similar substances, however, if you had ever used sand in a chicken coop you would realise that the sand allows the poop to clump and be easily scooped up, as is the same with cat litter.
Now, if you don't mind I would really rather not have anymore direct insult from you. I'm sure you mean well, etc. etc. but, whether you like it or not, people are entitled to employ different practices and just because you think your right, doesn't make me wrong. I am happy with my choices and I feel they are informed.
Edited to say: I apologise for being partially responsible for lowering the tone of what should be an innocuous and informative thread. I shouldn't let myself get defensive because then you lose objectivity. I'm going to leave my previous posts up but I'll leave the subject from here on.
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Whilst i don't want to flame this thread i would just like to point out that in order to get those wood shavings you claim to be more environmentally sustainable, i ask if you are taking the carbon footprint involved to get it to the stage that it is useable for your chickens? Forestry time, processing, miles to door costs?
Sand could be used over and over again as long as you clean it. I personally will be using sand and rubber chippings (wich can both be cleaned).
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Whilst i don't want to flame this thread i would just like to point out that in order to get those wood shavings you claim to be more environmentally sustainable, i ask if you are taking the carbon footprint involved to get it to the stage that it is useable for your chickens? Forestry time, processing, miles to door costs?
Sand could be used over and over again as long as you clean it. I personally will be using sand and rubber chippings (wich can both be cleaned).
Okay, let's bring this down a knotch.
Wood shavings is a biproduct, and we still need timber right? And timber traps coal, it doesn't release it into the atmosphere. When I compost the old bedding, the coal goes into the ground becoming soil.
Then let's look at your plan for the sand and rubber. In order for it to be clean, you need to heat it up and use water. How are you planning on doing that without energy? Remember that the energy used for making wood shavings is used for the timber, so you can't blame that on the shavings. And what about the water used? Is that something you have considered?
I really do appreciate the way you feel about the environment, but I really don't appreciate the way you feel as though you have a right to judge me. Feel free to add your two cents to any discussion on this forum but please stop directly targeting me and calling me out on my choices. I stand by my assertions and still feel as though I make the right choice for my situation. I've been able to provide suitable justifications which stand up as well as yours to scrutiny, whether you believe that to be true or not.
You obviously like to feel as though your extremely knowledgeable so I'll give you a bit more. Hay is not common in Orkney and is actually at such a premium that people would be shocked to learn I used it as bedding rather than valuable animal feed. Straw is also not easy to come by. As for it being non re-new able, again, I'll just give you a bit more information so your better informed next time you want to be insultingly judgemental; My land is basically sand, I have sand pits where I take my sand from, I then use this sand back on my land when i'm done with it. But even if it was direct from the beach, its not being taken from the planet, turned into something else, it's still sand.
I also work as a horticulturalist and know all about organic matter, what you are talking about within sand is not the same as what I am talking about in organic substrates. As for comparing clay with sand, I'm glad that gave you a laugh, but I didn't mean they were similar substances, however, if you had ever used sand in a chicken coop you would realise that the sand allows the poop to clump and be easily scooped up, as is the same with cat litter.
Now, if you don't mind I would really rather not have anymore direct insult from you. I'm sure you mean well, etc. etc. but, whether you like it or not, people are entitled to employ different practices and just because you think your right, doesn't make me wrong. I am happy with my choices and I feel they are informed.
Edited to say: I apologise for being partially responsible for lowering the tone of what should be an innocuous and informative thread. I shouldn't let myself get defensive because then you lose objectivity. I'm going to leave my previous posts up but I'll leave the subject from here on.
Hahahaha. You accuse me of judging you? Perhaps you should read what you youself write, I have not written a single thing about you as a person, you on the other hand have missbehaved from the start.
And by the way, I don't feel knowledgable, I am. That is something a person becomes when studying year after year after year at the university, geology for example.
And NOOOO grass as far as the eyes can see, just sand...right.
(http://217.70.34.228/forums/uploads/1505651908/gallery_83434_6127_134312.png)
And by the way, facts are not insults, they are just facts.
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Okay, let's bring this down a knotch.
Wood shavings is a biproduct, and we still need timber right? And timber traps coal, it doesn't release it into the atmosphere. When I compost the old bedding, the coal goes into the ground becoming soil.
Then let's look at your plan for the sand and rubber. In order for it to be clean, you need to heat it up and use water. How are you planning on doing that without energy? Remember that the energy used for making wood shavings is used for the timber, so you can't blame that on the shavings. And what about the water used? Is that something you have considered?
Firstly sorry if you perceived my comments as inflammatory. That was not my intention.
I mentioned the carbon footprint comment because it is something i am looking into alot as i am in the process of trying to start an as near as possible, carbon neutral fuelwood business. The energy used by industry to the finished article (sawdust/shavings) makes it far from carbon neutral.
The amount of sand i intend to use would be so miniscule in the grand scheme of things it is not worth talking about. You'd probably find more sand is blown to the UK from the sahara each each year than my usage. The rubber chippings are recycled from old road tyres so saved from the landfill or energy intensive remould process.
For cleaning the sand and rubber chippings i intend to have a solar panel/wind turbine heated water supply/tank.
As for composting. If it is done aerobically correct it releases waste heat and carbon dioxide (CO2) into the environment
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Folks, don't forget that the original question was "What type of bedding does everyone use for chickens?", and not even "What's the most environmentally friendly chicken bedding?". Although people on here tend to be more "Eco" than the general population IME, it's not necessarily the over-riding factor for many of us. (That's not a judgement, just a fact. I personally am acutely aware that if we wanted to be as eco as possible, we should actually sell our 200 year old farmhouse and smallholding and instead move to a small well insulated house within walking distance of both work and shops.)
Lingon, I'm glad you posted the original link about sand, but a better response afterwards would have been "If sand works for you then fair enough. Just be aware that others don't have as sustainable a source as there is on Orkney". Otherwise, we just get into a spiral of disagreement, which gets us nowhere. It is also a fact that most of us use non-renewable resources all of the time, whether that be petrol to go and collect layer's pellets, the embodied energy in the layer's pellets, or even perhaps the water that our hens drink (technically no more renewable than sand - just plentiful).
As for composting. If it is done aerobically correct it releases waste heat and carbon dioxide (CO2) into the environment
Yes, I was going to ask that - isn't composting basically the same chemical reaction as burning, only done slower?
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As a moderator I am going to ask that this thread returns strictly to the original topic .... of what do you use for chicken bedding.. Any eco or other arguments for not using something should be addressed elsewhere please.