[HesterF]

Does anybody know when hemp is harvested? Last I heard there was a nationwide shortage of Hemcore because last year's hemp harvest was so poor. I've been trying out Easichick (which I noticed yesterday says not for web footed birds as I put it in the duck house) and chopped straw which feels lovely but has been scattered all over the place by the chickens so I'm desperate to get back to Hemcore - or their flax equivalent. SCATS is typically scatty  on the subject...


H

[Eastling]

You could try Grain Harvester at Wingham. Not sure if they stock it, but may be able to get some for you.

[lachlanandmarcus]

Aubiose is the same thing but comes from France so may be available in years where the uk harvest struggles sometimes and vice versa.

[HesterF]

Thanks Eastling - I think it was out nationwide. I phoned Hemp Technology direct a while ago as SCATs claimed they never stocked it -even though I knew I'd got it there before. I guess I should just phone them back! I'd forgotten about Auboise. I did get some of that last year but it was through Flyte so Fancy who always cost a fortune making it twice the price of Hemcore. Anybody know where else to buy Auboise?

H

[HesterF]

And the good news is that it's back! Yay! Fed up with cut up straw being kicked out of the houses all over the field. Fed up with it getting wet and slimy when it rains and needing to be changed twice as often for the mucky ducks.

Lovely smell, lovely absorbency, lovely compost, lovely not having to clean them out so often, great value - happy, happy. Now can you all petition Farm & Pet Place to stock it & my world will be complete? Mind you, SCATs had waterfowl pellets in today which makes the 18 mile round trip suddenly a lot more attractive.

H

[lachlanandmarcus]

If you have any more probs getting it any horse feed depot will have one or the other of Hemcore or Aubiose, theres only 10p different in the price I pay for each and TBH I find Aubiose more absorbent , it's more processed so more just the very inner fluffy stuff, and paler in colour making poo finding easier, but I do get Hemcore too as like to support the uk produced stuff.

[suziequeue]

Hemp Technology - the makers of hem core have gone into administration.


Anybody got any suggestions as to a non-wood chip alternative? Having read through this thread - I should try Auboise I guess. It's for our hens. I really don't want to use wood shavings if I can help it.

[lord flynn]

I have just changed horses and poultry onto pelleted straw and I love it. I am still using shavings on top of the pellets in the nest boxes but thats partly because my pens are such a mess. The pellets break down, absorbs ammonia and isn't as dusty as shavings. I have used miscanthus straw pellets with the horses which are even less dusty but took a little longer to break down, they are also slightly more expensive. I get mine from agripellets.

[HesterF]

I did a separate thread on this when they went into administration. I've got a pallet load of a flax based bedding - found it through horsey sites. Going well so far. They claim higher absorbency than hemp although I'm not convinced (having said that the current climate would challenge ny bedding).

H

[suziequeue]

Thanks Hester.


Yes - it was one of your old threads on hemp that I resurrected for this enquiry.


I will look at more horsey sites. The merchant who am dealing with does some horse bedding already so I am hoping it won't be hard to persuade him to get something easily compostable such as what has been mentioned on here that I can use for the chickens aswell.