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Clukcluks said:
Thanks. It still needs some bedding. I live in Adelanto Ca.. That's in the high desert. Hot summers cold winter, very little rain and snow. Can you please suggest a bedding material for those conditions.
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Debbie292d said:
For your coop, we've used horse bedding pellets for the entire nearly nine years and like the no/low maintenance and odor-free coop. They dry up the poop and become dustfree sawdust. Some use straw, pine shavings, or sand, deep litter, and there's a few other mediums.
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Your the 1st to suggest Horse bedding pellets. The most popular has been washed sand.
 
Clukcluks said:
Thanks. It still needs some bedding. I live in Adelanto Ca.. That's in the high desert. Hot summers cold winter, very little rain and snow. Can you please suggest a bedding material for those conditions.
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Honestly, I don't think you could go wrong.
You could just use pine shavings in the coop like most people. Or, try the horse bedding pellets. You could try sand. But like I said I don't think you'll go wrong. I will say pine shavings can get dirty quickly, and droppings collect quickly underneath the roosts. But if you clean out the droppings everyday that would help. With the pellets I would definitely give it a try, I'm wanting to try them myself. For sand, that's something that would stay for awhile and you could clean it up like a litter box. Don't be afraid to try different things, you don't have to stick to one thing.
Now for the run, I would probably put mulch/wood chip type bedding in there.
 
Tookie said:
Honestly, I don't think you could go wrong.
You could just use pine shavings in the coop like most people. Or, try the horse bedding pellets. You could try sand. But like I said I don't think you'll go wrong. I will say pine shavings can get dirty quickly, and droppings collect quickly underneath the roosts. But if you clean out the droppings everyday that would help. With the pellets I would definitely give it a try, I'm wanting to try them myself. For sand, that's something that would stay for awhile and you could clean it up like a litter box. Don't be afraid to try different things, you don't have to stick to one thing.
Now for the run, I would probably put mulch/wood chip type bedding in there.
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How lrg or sml are these pellets. How thick of a layer is necessary for effectiveness. How deep of a layer is needed and how much time before they need to be removed
 
Clukcluks said:
How lrg or sml are these pellets. How thick of a layer is necessary for effectiveness. How deep of a layer is needed and how much time before they need to be removed
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Tractor supply or farm stores sell them for around $8 for 40#. For our one coop that's 5'x12', it takes 4 bags to cover the floor a couple of inches. We do that in the spring, and don't touch it until next spring. By that time, about 75% of the pellets have turned to dustless sawdust. This is for approx 15 silkies, sometimes more or less.

We started using them in the brooders, and there's a game-changer. No more stinky brooders! The brooder stays dry as a bone, so no coccidiosis or anything else can start growing. Those I stir with my hand or a stick daily as their little feet don't scratch them around like the big chickens. (They start on paper towels their first couple of days, then I pull them and it's all pellets.)

You'll ask if the chickens or chicks eat them. Of course, they all have to try one, then drop it, and that's that. These are 100% pine. I do not wet them before using them, but I have heard a few that do. To me, that's wasting so much of the absorbative properties the pellets have, but to each their own. The sawdust they make is fluffy and dust-free, unlike normal sawdust.
 
Debbie292d said:
Tractor supply or farm stores sell them for around $8 for 40#. For our one coop that's 5'x12', it takes 4 bags to cover the floor a couple of inches. We do that in the spring, and don't touch it until next spring. By that time, about 75% of the pellets have turned to dustless sawdust. This is for approx 15 silkies, sometimes more or less.

We started using them in the brooders, and there's a game-changer. No more stinky brooders! The brooder stays dry as a bone, so no coccidiosis or anything else can start growing. Those I stir with my hand or a stick daily as their little feet don't scratch them around like the big chickens. (They start on paper towels their first couple of days, then I pull them and it's all pellets.)

You'll ask if the chickens or chicks eat them. Of course, they all have to try one, then drop it, and that's that. These are 100% pine. I do not wet them before using them, but I have heard a few that do. To me, that's wasting so much of the absorbative properties the pellets have, but to each their own. The sawdust they make is fluffy and dust-free, unlike normal sawdust.
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So just to understand. I lay down some paper towels first in the hen house and then cover with the pellets for a couple of days then pull the towels off or out.
My coop is 4x4x5, and my run is 15x6x6 all natural dirt floor.
 
Clukcluks said:
So just to understand. I lay down some paper towels first in the hen house and then cover with the pellets for a couple of days then pull the towels off or out.
My coop is 4x4x5, and my run is 15x6x6 all natural dirt floor.
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Not in the coop or run, no.

I was explaining what I do for the hatched chicks in their brooder. These are silkies and their little feet need something softer for a couple of days as in the paper towels. After a couple of days, I pull those.

In the coop, just clean everything out, spray it if you suspect any mite issues, then toss the pellets down at least an inch thick, two inches preferably.
 
Debbie292d said:
Not in the coop or run, no.

I was explaining what I do for the hatched chicks in their brooder. These are silkies and their little feet need something softer for a couple of days as in the paper towels. After a couple of days, I pull those.

In the coop, just clean everything out, spray it if you suspect any mite issues, then toss the pellets down at least an inch thick, two inches preferably.
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O okay I am new to this. I am just starting to get a feel for the lingo and so many breeds of hens and roos,cockerel etc.. thanks for setting me straight 🐓🐔👍
 

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