Dalia!!! Im a new chicken mama and I have watched I think every single one of your videos. My husband now makes fun of me saying ‘what does Dalia think?’ To everything because all I do is talk about you haha! ´Dalia said this Dalia said that’ 😂 Much love from the north of England 🏴 🩷🐓🐤
Thank you for lifting the weight of guilt because I can't afford some of the more expensive things. I take good care of my chickens I use the pine bedding because I cannot afford the hemp even though I want the hemp really bad! But when you said the best chicken bedding is whatever you can afford it made me cry! Thank you for being who you are when it comes to keeping these beautiful birds I think it's more important we keep them rather than not keeping them because we think we have to spend too much money. I don't like factory farms anymore than you do. I love my girls and my two boys! Thank you again for having a heart for chickens.❤
The absolute best bedding I've ever used is dried leaves in the fall. Of course, unless you have lots and lots of trees and some way to package and store these dried leaves, I never can accumulate enough to last me all through the year until autumn when the leaves fall again. But for a short period in the fall and part of winter, my chickens have dried leaves in their coop. Being naturally lazy, I collect these by using a mower with a bag attached. 🙃
I do this too. It takes a lot of space to store bags of leaves but it also takes space to store other bedding if you try to store a years worth. The thing i love most about leaves is they are free. I know people who will go through smaller towns and villages and ask people for the leaves they have on the curb for pick up. they make the best compost.
@@leahparsons7907 OH LUCKY YOU!! I bag up about 70 bags each fall and store them in the garden shed. make sure they leaves are dry. my garden shed smells sooooo good with those leaves in there. then we fill our trailer up with lose leaves and dump them at least knee deep in the run. that way come spring the chickens are not tramping around in mud for 2 months. by summer the leaves are all compost in the run and I can scrap off a few inches of soil every other year or so to use as mulch in my garden. Great nutritious compost. I deep litter in the coop and clean that litter out in spring and fall and put that in a compost pile because it hasn't broken down as well as the stuff outside. YEAH! free bedding, free compost, can' t imagine doing anything else.
Amazing! It never occurred to me to use leaves! I have almost 30 acres, and many many trees. Bags of shavings are not that expensive, but leaves are FREE!
I don't use it as bedding, but I do gather up bags of leaves to dump in my run (1 paper lawn bag every 2 to 3 weeks) so they can dig through them and keep busy throughout the winter. Keeps them from picking on each other. Always make sure the leaves are dry before picking them up.
Hello Dahlia, we use baking soda or wood ash to combat the ammonia problems. It removes all of the smell. Thanks for all that you do. I love your positive and joyful delivery of your messages.
But does removing the order remove the ammonia? If we can smell the ammonia, it's already too much for the chickens' respiratory systems. The smell is a danger signal. I've used deep litter for 16 to 22 chickens for more than two years without changing it (only adding more). No bad smells.
2 hours for ammonia to form. Did childcare 30 yrs, yes it's true 2 hours all you got. That stuff can take your breath away😮😮😮How do they claim 12 hours diapers???
@@lynncarter4964 I put another layer of bedding on top of the ashes. My hens are not hurt by it. In the summertime I scoop shovel fulls of the ashes into the run for them to dust bathe in. They love it.
Grow your own! Fight with us for your right to have industrial hemp freed from constraints put on medicinal, ingestable cbd hemp. YUMA is a strain grown in zone 7 over and over again in university trials that has been proven to thive,in drought too, in Missouri. Pm me for seed sources..
Yes, but support non-MAGA hemp producers. There are a lot of immoral people in the business, just like in overall agribusiness. Look for companies who support Human Rights & Women.
I use corn cob bedding...by Beck's. I used pine and ran into issues and wanted something more organic...can't afford hemp so corn cob it is and we love it. Very absorbent, no odor, lower dust than pine and organic - not to mention, these girls love it when I open a new bag. The hubs told me this was his families method of bedding growing up. It has been a game changer and very affordable...I'll never go back. This is not a criticism to those who use pine...but for my flock, it was a no go. Thanks for sharing! Love your videos.
Would you mind sharing what specific issues you ran into with pine? I am newer to chickens, and we have been using pine so far, but I am gathering all the info I can, so I can make a more informed decision. Thanks!
@@natalieromito3928 for me…pine seemed to allow more bugs in… lots of dust, which can irritate the hens. It doesn’t breakdown enough for me to compost easy… I wanted something more organic and easy to compost and corn cob has been a game changer. I’ve been using corn cob for almost six months and very happy. Their coop doesn’t smell and easy to clean up the poop. I also use a sand tray under the roosting bars so the poop is easy to clean and love it. Kind of like a kitty litter box with sand and I use a scoop to clean up. Hope this helps.
I use sand as a base. Then I add kiln dried shavings on top of it. I also pick out my coop every day. I add First Saturday Lime on top of the sand prior to the shavings. I ran a horse barn for years. Cleaning the poop out daily eliminates, keeps out worms and parasites.
I had a dumb question about using white ashes... but it turns to lye-ashes if it gets wet... so I answered my own question. Bad idea. But... what are some other alternatives?
For my small coop in winter (5 chickens) I use dog poop scoop bags and wrap around my hand and then I go in and grab the line of poop (they roost on bars so poop is all in a row) that way it cleans the co-op without removing too much bedding. Then I do a weekly big clean out. Keeps things dry too!
I have been using a combination of chopped straw and pellet horse bedding (pine pellets) it helps with the moisture. It’s been great. If I’m getting high moisture the pellets clump up so it’s a great visual indicator that I need to clean out and start again and address the moisture problem.
I use 3 ft of cedar shavinge. Ive been raising chickens for 75 years with no ill effects and after 7 years my chicken coop has never smelled of poop. It smells like nothing.and it keeps all lice and leg mites away. Ive never had a sick chicken but my chickens run free on 10 acres. I also have about 100 chigkens.
I don't use cedar shavings in my brooder because I have heard the chicks are sensitive to it. My brooder is basically a plastic tub, so I can see how it could be an issue with little ventilation. I have heard people say that they have a well ventilated coop and don't have issues with cedar shavings. One time, our farm store only had cedar shavings for some reason. I used what I could get. I didn't notice any issues.
It's good to hear it from someone like you because so many people think that cedar can create respiratory problems. I don't believe it because I've also used it but I heard it can affect younger chicks
I used rice hulls when I could find them and afford them. They clumped around the wet blobs and once in the raised garden beds they held up for months without rotting away. Kept the soil nice and loose. I hope to have chickens again soon. Miss them very much.😊
I live in a Very Northern State Where temps drop below zero overnight often. I used Sand Once, It was very cold in the Winter. I used Straw Bales from a Farmer Once (Never Again) it caused a Northern Fowl Mite Invasion. I do buy chopped Straw in packages from T.S.~ But My go to Bedding is Pine Shavings, I buy five bags of fine cut for the Base and five bags of the flake shavings for the top layer. It keeps it nice and comfortable. (The fine cut is a lot more dense when compacted) 🐔🐔
I use sand lol! But I use river/river bank sand that dries very quickly and when it gets yucky I clean it all out and put fresh in, just like I would with straw or shavings. The "construction" sand or all-purpose sand does not dry out well and stays pretty wet. Just have to do your sand research. And from what I've read, sand actually keeps things cool in summer and warm in winter, in the coop. Just thought I'd offer a different perspective on it, not shaming or anything. First year owner here, so I may learn differently, but so far, so good.
I love sand too, my coop has a beach / pirate theme, so it looks great. They have warming boxes to hang out in if it's too cold. Also the whole coop is a dusting box. I use "play sand" for playgrounds Only because it's sterilized. Never get sand from the beach, it gave my birds ringworms because of decades of dogs pooping on the beach.
Hemp bedding isn't available here. What we did (our coop had cement floors) was put down a thin sprinkle of DE, then topped that with sand. That got topped with pressed equine bedding pellets, which absorb the moisture and dry it out. Then we topped that with shavings, then we topped that with straw. It wasn't chopped straw, just baled straw. It was nice and thick, and the chooks loved raking through it. We'd do a semi deep bedding, and when we went to clean it out of the coop, we shoveled the dirty stuff form the coop into the chicken run. The stuff that had been in the run got shoveled into the compost or garden. Then we'd lay down the fresh stuff.
You're so right about everything in this! Especially the last point - the best is the "best" one that you can afford! Too east to get caught up and feeling like "less than best" is just as bad as "the worst" when you love your feather-puppies so much.
I love how you speak in conversation in your videos. I feel like your in the room with me! You have a fun, joyful personality, thank you for sharing with the world.
I use sand in the summer and I only have seven chickens and a small coop so I scoop poop every morning…but in the winter when they have scratched out most of the sand I add chopped straw. They love it! I add when needed and I put in their run too. Always have a tire filled with sand for dust bathing and I wrap half of the pen with plastic to keep out wind and snow. Has worked pretty well. I also do diatomaceous earth once a month.
I have a couple of poultry heat mats in my coop. They basically like those heated dog mats. The girls can choose to sit on them if they feel cold. They only cost about $50, take very little electricity, and are very safe. You can lay them of a flat surface to put then on the wall. They do not heat the whole area, just where the mat is located. The girls love them and I have never had an issue with frostbite since getting them. People argue that hens can live without heat, yeah, well so can humans, but life is a lot more pleasant when you are comfortable and not have to use all of your energy to survive rather then using it to recuperate after pushing out 10-20x more eggs then your body was made to during laying season. Give them a comfy rest over those couple of cold months.
I get large moving boxes and cut two chicken door holes in both ends and put it over the heat mat..this keeps the heat in, especially when you line it with insulation..keeping some ventilation of course too. I use this for Seramas. They really seem to like it. A few rather not use it, but many often go in there when they feel the cold come on. I like that they know that’s the place to go when the chill comes on. I’m with you- they definitely can live without heat, (speaking of regular chickens..seramas are a bit different) but why deprive them of at least a choice? I think my chickens live longer and are healthier when I supply them with creature comforts like a source of heat in the winter. I have two 14 year olds! I bring the older chickens inside the house during cold snaps though. Old chickens don’t do well in freezing weather.
@@sonofhibbs4425I agreed on the supplemental heat. We have 4-girls now that just turned 6. You can tell the cold get to them a little more than when they were younger. Started using cozy coop panels when the temps are back which helps allot 😊
Great information! My first winter having chickens....I have sand with a layer of aspen over it. I've noticed the sand underneath getting wet. My coop is not a normal coop, it's a massive chicken tractor that is big enough for 12 chickens to nest comfortably. However, it has a low ceiling and it's not completely water proof. I wish I would've just went the normal route and paid for a coop instead of having someone build me this tractor. I let the chickens free range all day, so they just bed down in it at night. I've been cleaning and fluffing the bedding to try to air it out to dry but every time its wet around the entire edge of the inside. Anyways, I like your methods. I plan to try to waterproof this thing, or maybe not enough ventilation, or both!, and change up the bedding. I love your videos, you're so sweet and you give us your superior knowledge in a sensible manor that everyone can do. ✊Save the chickens! Bok Bok🐓💓
I love that you say that the best bedding for winter is what you can afford. A way to save for bedding costs is to pay yourself $2-3 per dozen eggs you don't have to buy from the grocery store. Egg prices have been crazy the last few years, up to $5 a dozen on occasion. I know they are even more expensive elsewhere, but I am used to $1 a dozen eggs and it kills me to pay so much. I would love a small coop but my town says you need 3 acres to have chickens. I hope they change that someday. A neighbor has an illegal coop with 3-4 chickens. Don't know how they get away with it. I am too law abiding. BTW, We heat mostly with wood and we always say the best wood to heat with is free wood. Whatever we can scrounge from someone cutting down a tree is what we heat with.
I find in the extreme cold, pine shavings controls moisture better than straw. It's currently -22c here and we can get down to -45c. We do use straw occasionally, and in the run, but I prefer pine. I wish we could get hemp here but I haven't found a source for it.
So happy I found your channel. As a new chicken mama, I had no idea how to do any of this. I love your laid back, easy, relatable style. You provide so much useful information!! Thank you, thank you!!
Delighted to hear #1 includes whole, dried leaves as we have collected maple and oak leaves for years to use especially in the winter. We can put 2’ of fluffy leaves in the coop under the roosts and other places. Great insulation for them. (We live in southern Indiana.)
Great video as always. A video on winter bedding was a great idea. Those of us in Canada get hammered hard most every winter. I'm in northern Alberta. We are in the middle of a heavy snow storm right now. Temperatures around -12c and will be colder tonight. I've always used Pine shavings. One of the easiest to clean up I find and excellent insulation on the floor. I have a thermometer near the floor in the coop to keep track of temperatures at the chickens level.
I use pine shavings usually and wood shavings from a friend who is a carpenter. Sometimes I add dried leaves. Every morning when I feed them , I use a hoe to scrape off the roosts and stir up the bedding. It covers up the poop and helps to dry out the bedding a little bit. Thanks for another great video! I'll have to see if I can find hemp.
I really appreciate and value your explanation about pine bedding and the studies. Thank you for explaining that. Before hearing you out, I was against it out of fear of hearing others say, "Stay away from pine shavings! The dust will cause respiratory issues in your chickens!". Good to hear the research.... throughout this video. Thanks again so much for sharing your knowledge!
We use pine shavings in the chicken coop, but underneath their purches we have sand so that I can scoop the poop out with the kitty litter scoop. It’s wonderful. My husband put a one by four separating the pine shavings from the sand. Of course it’s standing up on end to create a barrier. Anyway, that works beautifully for us. I love your videos. God bless you.❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏. And I might add they have a covered run attached to the coop that is all pet moss. There is plenty of room for all of them to dust bathe all year long no matter the weather. Then attached to that is an uncovered run, which is just the grass. But we open our door every day and let them run freely in our entire yard. We have a 6 foot fence.They are actually quite spoiled. We love our girls.❤❤❤❤❤
I had a mouse infestation in the straw bales around the run I used as a windbreak. This year we put panels up around most of the run. They are 24 inches high. We have lots of wind.
I've never heard of or seen hemp bedding. Sounds great. I use the least dusty large wood shavings I can get. I clean out in spring and fall. We use a garden rake to mix in fresh shavings as needed. It works really well.
God Bless Our Baby Chickens!!! I have a seed business AND I REALLY, really, really, want to retire for the "how many times???" But I love my Babies! So for now, I'll keep working to buy everything MY babies ask for.
I use aspen in my coop. I personally think it’s more along the lines of chopped straw. It doesn’t have the volatile oils that pine and cedar do, and one bag for $7.50 does my whole 6x6 coop for 6 months. In my run I put down dried leaves. Really nice at keeping them off the cold ground in the winter and they stay dry cuz I wrap my run in plastic. I don’t wrap the door area, and if that gets a bit wet, I throw some of those expanding pine pellets on there and they soak any water up and then the shavings dry up and get mixed in. Works so well for us. Also the leaves break down (we have tiny ash leaves , so pretty quickly) and create a good amount of dust for them to bathe in! Win/win!
Thank you for this video!! I have used and continue to use pine shavings. Honestly haven’t used anything else. I love it and it is vey dusty but it works great and my girls haven’t had any issues. I have had my girls since they’re were about a week old and are now going on 2 ❤🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐓
I like large pine shavings. I'm in TX and you can't find straw around here. But the pine smells nice and it's very warm. I also use a heat lamp with plenty of ventilation. And I have a extra wire attached to make sure it doesn't fall ever.
Side note- straw is usually some type of wheat- anyone sensitive to gluten (wheat, barley, rye) may have a problem with it- I have celiac disease, and cannot tolerate ANY gluten in any form- I tried planting potatoes in bales of straw & ended up in the ER twice before I figured that out.. hoping my mistakes save others any problems
I used hemp in my coop but found that it didn't prevent insect infestations. Some of the bags I purchased were moldy and it was quite expensive. The slight resin smell in pine seems to be more preventative. Aspen doesn't have the same strong smell and it doesn't change the body chemistry in rabbits. I will use a mix of aspen when I can find it and pine which has a nice balance. They like the straw in the nest boxes and in the winter I spread it on the snow to make a warmish path or area for free ranging.
I also buy straw in the winter to throw on top of the snow because God forbid my little Chicky babies get their feet in the snow😜 I swear, they act like it’s hot lava or something.
I would never use straw, even for livestock. I took a suggestion and put down some wood shavings in the pen the other day for the hens to scratch through. Then, snow and wind came and it’s all wet and I’m going to have to remove it in the cold! Chickens stayed in the Cube all day so I put some feed and water inside. They didn’t even come out into the protected run where it is dry with lots of grass hay! They finally started a minor molt a couple of weeks ago and it has been a normal, fairly warm and sunny autumn this year. Everyone I talk to in Central Indiana has remarked that this fall is actually what they remembered from decades ago - as I do!
I always appreciate your take and your experiences...thanks for another great video! Is there a specific humidity/moisture level that is considered "danger zone?" I have a humidity gage inside the coop, but I'm not sure what levels are acceptable and what is not. Do you?
Me personally, I prefer deep litter. I will try to see about the hemp. All i can say is that ALL LITTER MUST BE DRY as much as possible. It doesn't matter what animal you are using it for either, so long as it is dry.
Love you Prez. Thanks for sharing ❤. I first had chickens 2 miles down the street from Disneyland and threw them in my side yard where it was just concrete and my trash cans. My girls thrived and I loved them. I used your site often to learn. Now I moved to Phoenix area and after my concrete goes in this week, I have to learn all over due to climate, lol. Thanks for all you do ❤❤❤
I used straw, not hay, to make a wall outside my coop to block wind. Also used it around the base of coop, but left area for air to still get in to a reduced amount. Or tried leaves, but chickens moved it too much. I did bag leaves to put around my houses foundation, chickens would play on them when they free ranged
I just subscribed. I need to watch all your videos because I am starting Chickens in the spring, I was scared to start them now because of winter. Thank you for the information.,
We have a sawmill and a poop deck in the coop so I use the sawdust under the poop deck. It works really well. I’ll use the purchased wood shavings and/or straw for the main floor in the coop
I bought about 10-15 of the $5-7 plastic covered bales of pine shavings before last winter. Most of them were placed as walls along the outside northern sections of the small coops as windbreaks, while a few were emptied into the coops... In the spring and summer, I generally use fresh grass cuttings, both as bedding and as feed supplements.
Thanks for the video! I live in the northeast and I use wood bedding too, but just a little in the coop. The run has all different floors. Dirt, rocks, and bedding. In the winter, I wrap the run in plastic to stop the snow and rain to keep them dry 😊
I use pine shavings in coop and under there cap out side I put flakes of straw they tare down the flakes and they can stay warm all day out under truck cap on bad days in winter Ontario Canada 🙌
Your laugh makes me happy LOL. I literally just ordered 4 cubic yards of sand for my coop. But, I did layer it atop mixed pine shavings, cedar and straw.
I have to agree with you on the hemp. This year I made the investment in it just to see. It is has worked great so far. I still have ten bags of pine so as we progress through the winter I will be adding the pine. I love your number one reason! 🤗 for that. We love our flocks and just to have them is a joy to my life.
Your coop is the size of a hoouse holy crap. Also I was so nervous clicking this video because pine shavings are about all I can afford. So I was bracing myself to learn if I was messing up somehow. I wish I could afford to get higher quality stuff but it is what it is. Maybe when I can afford to get the big coop finished I can do the deep litter thing too.
if you have local newpapers, I have found it really great to mix in shredded paper with my wood chips. and it's easy to o deep litter - you just leave it, turn it sometimes, and I clean mine out in spring and just before the winter - and both those times of year pile it all on the garden.
@@KatBurnsKASHKA I'm not sure where our nearest paper is. Maybe in the next town over? I'll have to look it up. As for deep litter; I don't have the appropriate coop for that right now. I have a small one inside a chicken run that I got off of amazon, and my front porch. The porch holds the bedding in alright now that I've put a tarp down to keep it from falling through the slats between the boards but it still doesn't stay. The chickens kick it off and the wind takes it away so I have to replace the bedding pretty often. Right now everything is basically waiting on my larger hen house to be finished, which like most things requires money to pay someone. The chicken run birds seem to stay warm enough crowding into the small coop at night but y'know; it's not ideal.
I love that you said what you can afford, because I have only been able to afford hemp bedding once, it was fantastic and I would love to use it again, maybe at some point I will be able to afford it again, but I use pine shavings and at times I feel guilty, thank you for making me feel better 😊
Great information and thank you Dalia. I use pine chips and buy from a farm store that is super conscious of healthy products. I like hemp and am going to get some soon. It's a little more expensive but I definitely like it and my girls do too.
I’m so glad to see this video. In FL, the wet season is in the Spring. And it doesn’t usually get too cold in the winter. Your explanations help me understand what I will need for my flock when they are ready to move to the coop and run. Thank you!
Another serious prob with hay or straw is if you have set feeders in the coop as they eat they knock so.much out it is lost down under the bedding which feeds mice too good.😮
There is also different kinds of straw depending which grain it comes from, Wheat Straw, Oat Straw and Barley Straw. Each type of straw has different moisture absorbing properties. Barley straw has one of the best moisture absorbing property.
I'm surprised you didn't mention the horse barn pellets. We use it year round. Best thing ever. Absorbs moisture, you can change it totally, or just shovel out what is wet. Can go 6 months without total change if you periodically shovel some out and refresh. Been using it 20 years. Nit a whole lot of health problems with the girls, they live longer life spans etc.
I use pine shavings. I also insulated the coop when building - walls, floor and ceiling. The idea was two fold, first for chickens to ensure building was warm enough without heat (always 10-20°f warmer inside than outside in winter), second in case we wanted to use bldg for a different purpose in future. I also use 2x4s, wide side for roosts to keep their feet spread under them.
I use medium pine shaving in coop with comb heaters over perch and use straw in runs with plastic tarps surrounding runs leaving a foot gap at top in the middle and use heated waterers 😊 been working just fine in Indiana
Nothing beats straw for bedding. It is a Natural bedding it is cheap, biodegrades quickly, and has a good installation value. If you change it every week, your critters will be dry and happy.
I used alfalfa hay for years. I only got rid of it because I had mites that refused to go away. I could not have the deep litter method using hay. Funny I used to use sand too. Now I use pine shavings.
I hope I didn't sounds judgey in the video! That's never my intention. I know so many folks who love sand. No matter what, I think everyone should ultimately do what works best for them!
I live in a Very Northern State Where temps drop below zero overnight often. I used Sand Once, It was very cold in the Winter. I used Straw Bales from a Farmer Once (Never Again) it caused a Northern Fowl Mite Invasion. I do buy chopped Straw in packages from T.S.~ But My go to Bedding is Pine Shavings, I buy five bags of fine cut for the Base and five bags of the flakes for the top layer. It keeps it nice and comfortable. (The fine cut is a lot more dense when compacted) 🐔🐔
@@WelcometoChickenlandia You did not and you never do sound that way. I just thought it was funny that I did the wrong things at the top of wrong things to do list.
@@DeeJayMarie I will use straw for a path in the snow. They love it because it has seeds in it. It gives them something to do in the winter besides hide in the coop.
Poplar shavings work for our flocks. I drive to the next county and load up as much as I can in a large van. Reminds me, this weekend, we need to do the deep method and we have plenty of shavings still on hand from a run I did in the summer... we have not had a frost in north-eastern Alabama on our mountain YET, but oh, we know that it is coming! I like the Poplar better than aspen shavings (and certainly better than pine). I haven't seen the hemp shavings, but our hen nests are hemp. I think I will order some to sprinkle on top, as you have. Thank you again for a great episode.
❤ are there message boards you recommend? I hatched out an ALL white americana/Easter egger Roo and two chestnut-reds roo. They are eating all the good stuff, so they may go in my pot. Not sure how rare these birds are. ❤ Thanks Dahalia ❤
we’re right in the path of the current atmospheric river (NW Cal) - everything’s wet! I’ve set up a tent, covered with tarps clamped on, on my deck, until our county has a chance to drain. I have a small tent with roosts in the house at night. Pine shavings in both tents for the moment!
I would love to use hemp, but I can’t get it anywhere in my town and having it shipped is ridiculously expensive. If they ever come up with a cost-effective way to get it, I would be all over it.
Is your chicken at the begining and Andalusian? She looks and sounds just like my Nightshade who is a bantam Andalusian. PS I live in Alaska and we get cold. I have some great heat methods.
for folks on a budget - shredded newspaper/office paper/thin cardboard is a great alternative and pretty much free, other than the time to shred it. it makes great compost in a deep litter system too.
Love your videos had to giggle you said no dust. You just got done putting down the hemp. You had dust underneath your nose lol God bless you keep doing what you do.
I have only 3 aging hens. They do not use the roost bars anymore but sleep on the floor of the coop. I live in Arkansas with tolerable winters but I want the girls warm and safe. Do you have any recommendations for their bedding or how to accommodate their limitations? Our coop is relatively small. I thought about how to lift them off the floor but haven't got a clue. Two of them seem to have some vision problems.
We use a combination of shavings and straw deep litter. The straw keeps the dust down and composts really well, and the wood shavings keep it really dry. In the PNW that can be a real challenge.
I'm in a small town and there is limited stuff to choose from, shavings is the only reasonably priced option. I use Pine bark mulch in their outdoor cage and open up a large run during the day. Does Hemp compost down quickly? I use the pine shavings as a starter for compost with grass clippings and offal as Freedom Ranger chickens is part of my operation (no packed out factory farm here). Everything gets recycled back to growing food, even if its mulch for trees.
Pine is actually antibacterial, some people drink pine needle tea, high in vitamin c. I use pine shavings works great in the desert. Straw i use sometimes but 17.00 a bale is exspensive compared to 8.50 a bale to pine shavings. I use both to throw in my garden when i clean the coop put fresh bedding down
I'll never use straw again. Horse folks say every time they use hay in winter ( goes for straw too) they get lice or mites. The alfalfa field beside me has mites. Trying to treat chickens for bugs in winter is no fun for anyone. I love the pellets/ sawdust personally.
Dalia!!! Im a new chicken mama and I have watched I think every single one of your videos. My husband now makes fun of me saying ‘what does Dalia think?’ To everything because all I do is talk about you haha! ´Dalia said this Dalia said that’ 😂 Much love from the north of England 🏴 🩷🐓🐤
haha YAY!!
@@FeebsTarantulas She is awesome . I just love watching her videos.
Thank you for lifting the weight of guilt because I can't afford some of the more expensive things. I take good care of my chickens I use the pine bedding because I cannot afford the hemp even though I want the hemp really bad! But when you said the best chicken bedding is whatever you can afford it made me cry! Thank you for being who you are when it comes to keeping these beautiful birds I think it's more important we keep them rather than not keeping them because we think we have to spend too much money. I don't like factory farms anymore than you do. I love my girls and my two boys! Thank you again for having a heart for chickens.❤
I always ask WWGD? What Would Grandma Do? Grandma didn't have pricey things like hemp, that's for sure!
Well said
❤
I use pine shavings in the coop and straw in the nest boxes
The absolute best bedding I've ever used is dried leaves in the fall. Of course, unless you have lots and lots of trees and some way to package and store these dried leaves, I never can accumulate enough to last me all through the year until autumn when the leaves fall again. But for a short period in the fall and part of winter, my chickens have dried leaves in their coop. Being naturally lazy, I collect these by using a mower with a bag attached. 🙃
I do this too. It takes a lot of space to store bags of leaves but it also takes space to store other bedding if you try to store a years worth. The thing i love most about leaves is they are free. I know people who will go through smaller towns and villages and ask people for the leaves they have on the curb for pick up. they make the best compost.
Interesting! I have so many leaves right now on my 100acre property
@@leahparsons7907 OH LUCKY YOU!! I bag up about 70 bags each fall and store them in the garden shed. make sure they leaves are dry. my garden shed smells sooooo good with those leaves in there. then we fill our trailer up with lose leaves and dump them at least knee deep in the run. that way come spring the chickens are not tramping around in mud for 2 months. by summer the leaves are all compost in the run and I can scrap off a few inches of soil every other year or so to use as mulch in my garden. Great nutritious compost. I deep litter in the coop and clean that litter out in spring and fall and put that in a compost pile because it hasn't broken down as well as the stuff outside. YEAH! free bedding, free compost, can' t imagine doing anything else.
Amazing! It never occurred to me to use leaves! I have almost 30 acres, and many many trees. Bags of shavings are not that expensive, but leaves are FREE!
I don't use it as bedding, but I do gather up bags of leaves to dump in my run (1 paper lawn bag every 2 to 3 weeks) so they can dig through them and keep busy throughout the winter. Keeps them from picking on each other. Always make sure the leaves are dry before picking them up.
Hello Dahlia, we use baking soda or wood ash to combat the ammonia problems. It removes all of the smell. Thanks for all that you do. I love your positive and joyful delivery of your messages.
But does removing the order remove the ammonia? If we can smell the ammonia, it's already too much for the chickens' respiratory systems. The smell is a danger signal. I've used deep litter for 16 to 22 chickens for more than two years without changing it (only adding more). No bad smells.
2 hours for ammonia to form. Did childcare 30 yrs, yes it's true 2 hours all you got. That stuff can take your breath away😮😮😮How do they claim 12 hours diapers???
Biochar works great to cut down odor
Is it safe for their feet to walk around in ashes? Even if it gets damp or wet?
@@lynncarter4964 I put another layer of bedding on top of the ashes. My hens are not hurt by it. In the summertime I scoop shovel fulls of the ashes into the run for them to dust bathe in. They love it.
Love that you always bring it back around to the most important aspect of raising chickens and that is not having them in a factory. ❤
Amen!❤
We need market competition to bring down the price of hemp, across the board.
Couldn't you grow it?
@@bcc7777 Sure, If you have acres/hectare of land
Grow your own! Fight with us for your right to have industrial hemp freed from constraints put on medicinal, ingestable cbd hemp. YUMA is a strain grown in zone 7 over and over again in university trials that has been proven to thive,in drought too, in Missouri. Pm me for seed sources..
Yes, but support non-MAGA hemp producers. There are a lot of immoral people in the business, just like in overall agribusiness. Look for companies who support Human Rights & Women.
@bcc7777 isn't hemp from the marijuana plant?
I use corn cob bedding...by Beck's. I used pine and ran into issues and wanted something more organic...can't afford hemp so corn cob it is and we love it. Very absorbent, no odor, lower dust than pine and organic - not to mention, these girls love it when I open a new bag. The hubs told me this was his families method of bedding growing up. It has been a game changer and very affordable...I'll never go back. This is not a criticism to those who use pine...but for my flock, it was a no go. Thanks for sharing! Love your videos.
Would you mind sharing what specific issues you ran into with pine? I am newer to chickens, and we have been using pine so far, but I am gathering all the info I can, so I can make a more informed decision. Thanks!
@@natalieromito3928 for me…pine seemed to allow more bugs in… lots of dust, which can irritate the hens. It doesn’t breakdown enough for me to compost easy… I wanted something more organic and easy to compost and corn cob has been a game changer. I’ve been using corn cob for almost six months and very happy. Their coop doesn’t smell and easy to clean up the poop. I also use a sand tray under the roosting bars so the poop is easy to clean and love it. Kind of like a kitty litter box with sand and I use a scoop to clean up. Hope this helps.
Where do you get cob bedding!
@@vickiebrooks6145 Rural King stores
I use sand as a base. Then I add kiln dried shavings on top of it. I also pick out my coop every day. I add First Saturday Lime on top of the sand prior to the shavings. I ran a horse barn for years. Cleaning the poop out daily eliminates, keeps out worms and parasites.
I had a dumb question about using white ashes... but it turns to lye-ashes if it gets wet... so I answered my own question. Bad idea.
But... what are some other alternatives?
For my small coop in winter (5 chickens) I use dog poop scoop bags and wrap around my hand and then I go in and grab the line of poop (they roost on bars so poop is all in a row) that way it cleans the co-op without removing too much bedding. Then I do a weekly big clean out. Keeps things dry too!
I have been using a combination of chopped straw and pellet horse bedding (pine pellets) it helps with the moisture. It’s been great. If I’m getting high moisture the pellets clump up so it’s a great visual indicator that I need to clean out and start again and address the moisture problem.
This method works awesome, but I’ve noticed a lot more dust with the pine pellets.
Chopped straw works for me too!
I really like the pine pellets with pine shavings on top. Completely controls moisture for my coop and extends the time between coop cleaning
As a 23 year chicken keeper, I can say been there, done that with all these beddings. Personally I love the hemp.
I use 3 ft of cedar shavinge. Ive been raising chickens for 75 years with no ill effects and after 7 years my chicken coop has never smelled of poop. It smells like nothing.and it keeps all lice and leg mites away. Ive never had a sick chicken but my chickens run free on 10 acres. I also have about 100 chigkens.
I was told the oils in cedar are harmful to chickens. Old time farmer told me
I don't use cedar shavings in my brooder because I have heard the chicks are sensitive to it. My brooder is basically a plastic tub, so I can see how it could be an issue with little ventilation. I have heard people say that they have a well ventilated coop and don't have issues with cedar shavings. One time, our farm store only had cedar shavings for some reason. I used what I could get. I didn't notice any issues.
It's good to hear it from someone like you because so many people think that cedar can create respiratory problems. I don't believe it because I've also used it but I heard it can affect younger chicks
It's amazing to the studies with cedar oil have shown studies strong of a insect repellent to the point that the EPA even approved it for fumigation
Straw is also recommended for feral or community cats to line the houses for the winter. It's less likely to freeze and keeps the cats warmer.❤
HEMP is my favorite too!! Way cheaper than the wood shavings. Deep litter!! Love this!!
I don't know where you buy but hemp has been the most expensive over everything else.
I used rice hulls when I could find them and afford them. They clumped around the wet blobs and once in the raised garden beds they held up for months without rotting away. Kept the soil nice and loose. I hope to have chickens again soon. Miss them very much.😊
I live in a Very Northern State Where temps drop below zero overnight often. I used Sand Once, It was very cold in the Winter. I used Straw Bales from a Farmer Once (Never Again) it caused a Northern Fowl Mite Invasion. I do buy chopped Straw in packages from T.S.~ But My go to Bedding is Pine Shavings, I buy five bags of fine cut for the Base and five bags of the flake shavings for the top layer. It keeps it nice and comfortable. (The fine cut is a lot more dense when compacted) 🐔🐔
Yes! I hate straw. Every time I used it the coop was so cozy BUT my flock would get mites! They must hide in the hollow stems.
I use sand lol! But I use river/river bank sand that dries very quickly and when it gets yucky I clean it all out and put fresh in, just like I would with straw or shavings. The "construction" sand or all-purpose sand does not dry out well and stays pretty wet. Just have to do your sand research. And from what I've read, sand actually keeps things cool in summer and warm in winter, in the coop.
Just thought I'd offer a different perspective on it, not shaming or anything. First year owner here, so I may learn differently, but so far, so good.
Sand is great. I use it too and it’s the best. But I live in high desert so it’s dry. I’ve done the shavings, deep litter etc. Sand is just the best.
I love sand too, my coop has a beach / pirate theme, so it looks great. They have warming boxes to hang out in if it's too cold. Also the whole coop is a dusting box. I use "play sand" for playgrounds Only because it's sterilized. Never get sand from the beach, it gave my birds ringworms because of decades of dogs pooping on the beach.
I'm soooooo glad you're talking about this cuz so many people use hay. Hay also is hollow it's good breeding grounds for mites
Hemp bedding isn't available here. What we did (our coop had cement floors) was put down a thin sprinkle of DE, then topped that with sand. That got topped with pressed equine bedding pellets, which absorb the moisture and dry it out. Then we topped that with shavings, then we topped that with straw. It wasn't chopped straw, just baled straw. It was nice and thick, and the chooks loved raking through it. We'd do a semi deep bedding, and when we went to clean it out of the coop, we shoveled the dirty stuff form the coop into the chicken run. The stuff that had been in the run got shoveled into the compost or garden. Then we'd lay down the fresh stuff.
You're so right about everything in this! Especially the last point - the best is the "best" one that you can afford! Too east to get caught up and feeling like "less than best" is just as bad as "the worst" when you love your feather-puppies so much.
I love how you speak in conversation in your videos. I feel like your in the room with me! You have a fun, joyful personality, thank you for sharing with the world.
I use sand in the summer and I only have seven chickens and a small coop so I scoop poop every morning…but in the winter when they have scratched out most of the sand I add chopped straw. They love it! I add when needed and I put in their run too. Always have a tire filled with sand for dust bathing and I wrap half of the pen with plastic to keep out wind and snow. Has worked pretty well. I also do diatomaceous earth once a month.
I have a couple of poultry heat mats in my coop. They basically like those heated dog mats. The girls can choose to sit on them if they feel cold. They only cost about $50, take very little electricity, and are very safe. You can lay them of a flat surface to put then on the wall. They do not heat the whole area, just where the mat is located. The girls love them and I have never had an issue with frostbite since getting them. People argue that hens can live without heat, yeah, well so can humans, but life is a lot more pleasant when you are comfortable and not have to use all of your energy to survive rather then using it to recuperate after pushing out 10-20x more eggs then your body was made to during laying season. Give them a comfy rest over those couple of cold months.
@@Nightshade-333 Thanks. Thats a great idea.
I get large moving boxes and cut two chicken door holes in both ends and put it over the heat mat..this keeps the heat in, especially when you line it with insulation..keeping some ventilation of course too. I use this for Seramas. They really seem to like it. A few rather not use it, but many often go in there when they feel the cold come on. I like that they know that’s the place to go when the chill comes on.
I’m with you- they definitely can live without heat, (speaking of regular chickens..seramas are a bit different) but why deprive them of at least a choice? I think my chickens live longer and are healthier when I supply them with creature comforts like a source of heat in the winter. I have two 14 year olds! I bring the older chickens inside the house during cold snaps though. Old chickens don’t do well in freezing weather.
@@sonofhibbs4425I agreed on the supplemental heat. We have 4-girls now that just turned 6. You can tell the cold get to them a little more than when they were younger. Started using cozy coop panels when the temps are back which helps allot 😊
@@sonofhibbs442514 year olds, you should write your own book! (I'd buy it)❤
Love that you read actual studies!!!! It can be boring but the info may be life or death. Blessings to you 🙏
Great information! My first winter having chickens....I have sand with a layer of aspen over it. I've noticed the sand underneath getting wet. My coop is not a normal coop, it's a massive chicken tractor that is big enough for 12 chickens to nest comfortably. However, it has a low ceiling and it's not completely water proof. I wish I would've just went the normal route and paid for a coop instead of having someone build me this tractor. I let the chickens free range all day, so they just bed down in it at night. I've been cleaning and fluffing the bedding to try to air it out to dry but every time its wet around the entire edge of the inside. Anyways, I like your methods. I plan to try to waterproof this thing, or maybe not enough ventilation, or both!, and change up the bedding. I love your videos, you're so sweet and you give us your superior knowledge in a sensible manor that everyone can do. ✊Save the chickens! Bok Bok🐓💓
I love that you say that the best bedding for winter is what you can afford. A way to save for bedding costs is to pay yourself $2-3 per dozen eggs you don't have to buy from the grocery store. Egg prices have been crazy the last few years, up to $5 a dozen on occasion. I know they are even more expensive elsewhere, but I am used to $1 a dozen eggs and it kills me to pay so much. I would love a small coop but my town says you need 3 acres to have chickens. I hope they change that someday. A neighbor has an illegal coop with 3-4 chickens. Don't know how they get away with it. I am too law abiding. BTW, We heat mostly with wood and we always say the best wood to heat with is free wood. Whatever we can scrounge from someone cutting down a tree is what we heat with.
As I've gotten older, I'm thinking that it's better to ask for forgiveness than for permission. 😉
Go to town meetings with information about cities allowing chickens and get that law changed so chickens are allowed.
I find in the extreme cold, pine shavings controls moisture better than straw. It's currently -22c here and we can get down to -45c. We do use straw occasionally, and in the run, but I prefer pine. I wish we could get hemp here but I haven't found a source for it.
So happy I found your channel. As a new chicken mama, I had no idea how to do any of this. I love your laid back, easy, relatable style. You provide so much useful information!! Thank you, thank you!!
Delighted to hear #1 includes whole, dried leaves as we have collected maple and oak leaves for years to use especially in the winter. We can put 2’ of fluffy leaves in the coop under the roosts and other places. Great insulation for them. (We live in southern Indiana.)
Great video as always. A video on winter bedding was a great idea. Those of us in Canada get hammered hard most every winter. I'm in northern Alberta. We are in the middle of a heavy snow storm right now. Temperatures around -12c and will be colder tonight. I've always used Pine shavings. One of the easiest to clean up I find and excellent insulation on the floor. I have a thermometer near the floor in the coop to keep track of temperatures at the chickens level.
I use pine shavings usually and wood shavings from a friend who is a carpenter. Sometimes I add dried leaves. Every morning when I feed them , I use a hoe to scrape off the roosts and stir up the bedding. It covers up the poop and helps to dry out the bedding a little bit. Thanks for another great video! I'll have to see if I can find hemp.
10:16 how do you know how much moisture is too much moisture?
I really appreciate and value your explanation about pine bedding and the studies. Thank you for explaining that. Before hearing you out, I was against it out of fear of hearing others say, "Stay away from pine shavings! The dust will cause respiratory issues in your chickens!". Good to hear the research.... throughout this video. Thanks again so much for sharing your knowledge!
We use pine shavings in the chicken coop, but underneath their purches we have sand so that I can scoop the poop out with the kitty litter scoop. It’s wonderful. My husband put a one by four separating the pine shavings from the sand. Of course it’s standing up on end to create a barrier. Anyway, that works beautifully for us. I love your videos. God bless you.❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏. And I might add they have a covered run attached to the coop that is all pet moss. There is plenty of room for all of them to dust bathe all year long no matter the weather. Then attached to that is an uncovered run, which is just the grass. But we open our door every day and let them run freely in our entire yard. We have a 6 foot fence.They are actually quite spoiled. We love our girls.❤❤❤❤❤
I had a mouse infestation in the straw bales around the run I used as a windbreak. This year we put panels up around most of the run. They are 24 inches high. We have lots of wind.
We run a tarp around the bottom third of the run in the winter just as a wind break. The straw was just a pain.
I've never heard of or seen hemp bedding. Sounds great. I use the least dusty large wood shavings I can get. I clean out in spring and fall. We use a garden rake to mix in fresh shavings as needed. It works really well.
God Bless Our Baby Chickens!!! I have a seed business AND I REALLY, really, really, want to retire for the "how many times???" But I love my Babies! So for now, I'll keep working to buy everything MY babies ask for.
I use aspen in my coop. I personally think it’s more along the lines of chopped straw. It doesn’t have the volatile oils that pine and cedar do, and one bag for $7.50 does my whole 6x6 coop for 6 months. In my run I put down dried leaves. Really nice at keeping them off the cold ground in the winter and they stay dry cuz I wrap my run in plastic. I don’t wrap the door area, and if that gets a bit wet, I throw some of those expanding pine pellets on there and they soak any water up and then the shavings dry up and get mixed in. Works so well for us. Also the leaves break down (we have tiny ash leaves , so pretty quickly) and create a good amount of dust for them to bathe in! Win/win!
Thank you for this video!! I have used and continue to use pine shavings. Honestly haven’t used anything else. I love it and it is vey dusty but it works great and my girls haven’t had any issues. I have had my girls since they’re were about a week old and are now going on 2 ❤🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐓
I like large pine shavings. I'm in TX and you can't find straw around here. But the pine smells nice and it's very warm. I also use a heat lamp with plenty of ventilation. And I have a extra wire attached to make sure it doesn't fall ever.
Side note- straw is usually some type of wheat- anyone sensitive to gluten (wheat, barley, rye) may have a problem with it- I have celiac disease, and cannot tolerate ANY gluten in any form- I tried planting potatoes in bales of straw & ended up in the ER twice before I figured that out.. hoping my mistakes save others any problems
I used hemp in my coop but found that it didn't prevent insect infestations. Some of the bags I purchased were moldy and it was quite expensive. The slight resin smell in pine seems to be more preventative. Aspen doesn't have the same strong smell and it doesn't change the body chemistry in rabbits. I will use a mix of aspen when I can find it and pine which has a nice balance. They like the straw in the nest boxes and in the winter I spread it on the snow to make a warmish path or area for free ranging.
I also buy straw in the winter to throw on top of the snow because God forbid my little Chicky babies get their feet in the snow😜 I swear, they act like it’s hot lava or something.
@@nogames8982 haha, good mama!
I would never use straw, even for livestock.
I took a suggestion and put down some wood shavings in the pen the other day for the hens to scratch through. Then, snow and wind came and it’s all wet and I’m going to have to remove it in the cold!
Chickens stayed in the Cube all day so I put some feed and water inside. They didn’t even come out into the protected run where it is dry with lots of grass hay!
They finally started a minor molt a couple of weeks ago and it has been a normal, fairly warm and sunny autumn this year. Everyone I talk to in Central Indiana has remarked that this fall is actually what they remembered from decades ago - as I do!
I always appreciate your take and your experiences...thanks for another great video!
Is there a specific humidity/moisture level that is considered "danger zone?" I have a humidity gage inside the coop, but I'm not sure what levels are acceptable and what is not. Do you?
Me personally, I prefer deep litter. I will try to see about the hemp.
All i can say is that ALL LITTER MUST BE DRY as much as possible. It doesn't matter what animal you are using it for either, so long as it is dry.
Love you Prez. Thanks for sharing ❤. I first had chickens 2 miles down the street from Disneyland and threw them in my side yard where it was just concrete and my trash cans. My girls thrived and I loved them. I used your site often to learn. Now I moved to Phoenix area and after my concrete goes in this week, I have to learn all over due to climate, lol. Thanks for all you do ❤❤❤
New subscriber here. I have 6 layers and I appreciate this information. Thanks for sharing.
I used straw, not hay, to make a wall outside my coop to block wind. Also used it around the base of coop, but left area for air to still get in to a reduced amount. Or tried leaves, but chickens moved it too much. I did bag leaves to put around my houses foundation, chickens would play on them when they free ranged
I just subscribed. I need to watch all your videos because I am starting Chickens in the spring, I was scared to start them now because of winter. Thank you for the information.,
You got this!
We have a sawmill and a poop deck in the coop so I use the sawdust under the poop deck. It works really well. I’ll use the purchased wood shavings and/or straw for the main floor in the coop
I bought about 10-15 of the $5-7 plastic covered bales of pine shavings before last winter. Most of them were placed as walls along the outside northern sections of the small coops as windbreaks, while a few were emptied into the coops... In the spring and summer, I generally use fresh grass cuttings, both as bedding and as feed supplements.
Thanks for the video! I live in the northeast and I use wood bedding too, but just a little in the coop. The run has all different floors. Dirt, rocks, and bedding. In the winter, I wrap the run in plastic to stop the snow and rain to keep them dry 😊
I use pine shavings in coop and under there cap out side I put flakes of straw they tare down the flakes and they can stay warm all day out under truck cap on bad days in winter Ontario Canada 🙌
Your laugh makes me happy LOL. I literally just ordered 4 cubic yards of sand for my coop. But, I did layer it atop mixed pine shavings, cedar and straw.
I have to agree with you on the hemp. This year I made the investment in it just to see. It is has worked great so far. I still have ten bags of pine so as we progress through the winter I will be adding the pine. I love your number one reason! 🤗 for that. We love our flocks and just to have them is a joy to my life.
Your coop is the size of a hoouse holy crap. Also I was so nervous clicking this video because pine shavings are about all I can afford. So I was bracing myself to learn if I was messing up somehow. I wish I could afford to get higher quality stuff but it is what it is. Maybe when I can afford to get the big coop finished I can do the deep litter thing too.
if you have local newpapers, I have found it really great to mix in shredded paper with my wood chips. and it's easy to o deep litter - you just leave it, turn it sometimes, and I clean mine out in spring and just before the winter - and both those times of year pile it all on the garden.
@@KatBurnsKASHKA I'm not sure where our nearest paper is. Maybe in the next town over? I'll have to look it up. As for deep litter; I don't have the appropriate coop for that right now. I have a small one inside a chicken run that I got off of amazon, and my front porch. The porch holds the bedding in alright now that I've put a tarp down to keep it from falling through the slats between the boards but it still doesn't stay. The chickens kick it off and the wind takes it away so I have to replace the bedding pretty often. Right now everything is basically waiting on my larger hen house to be finished, which like most things requires money to pay someone.
The chicken run birds seem to stay warm enough crowding into the small coop at night but y'know; it's not ideal.
I love that you said what you can afford, because I have only been able to afford hemp bedding once, it was fantastic and I would love to use it again, maybe at some point I will be able to afford it again, but I use pine shavings and at times I feel guilty, thank you for making me feel better 😊
Great information and thank you Dalia.
I use pine chips and buy from a farm store that is super conscious of healthy products.
I like hemp and am going to get some soon. It's a little more expensive but I definitely like it
and my girls do too.
This is my first time seeing one of your videos and OMG girl, those glasses!! You look glorious!!!
I’m so glad to see this video. In FL, the wet season is in the Spring. And it doesn’t usually get too cold in the winter. Your explanations help me understand what I will need for my flock when they are ready to move to the coop and run. Thank you!
Another serious prob with hay or straw is if you have set feeders in the coop as they eat they knock so.much out it is lost down under the bedding which feeds mice too good.😮
There is also different kinds of straw depending which grain it comes from, Wheat Straw, Oat Straw and Barley Straw. Each type of straw has different moisture absorbing properties. Barley straw has one of the best moisture absorbing property.
I use shredded paper in the laying boxes and that side of the coop and pine shavings in a deep litter method under the roosts
We use straw or a straw/shaving combination. My birds like it and it makes a great Jumpstart for my compost piles throughout the year.
You explanations just truly
make a great educational purpose.
Excellent information.
Much appreciated.
I'm surprised you didn't mention the horse barn pellets. We use it year round. Best thing ever. Absorbs moisture, you can change it totally, or just shovel out what is wet. Can go 6 months without total change if you periodically shovel some out and refresh. Been using it 20 years. Nit a whole lot of health problems with the girls, they live longer life spans etc.
I love the pelletized shavings
We use horse pellets as bottom layer and then pine shavings on top.
I use pine shavings. I also insulated the coop when building - walls, floor and ceiling. The idea was two fold, first for chickens to ensure building was warm enough without heat (always 10-20°f warmer inside than outside in winter), second in case we wanted to use bldg for a different purpose in future. I also use 2x4s, wide side for roosts to keep their feet spread under them.
Awesome for wanna-be Homesteaders... so am sharing this post. Thanks!
I just love what you said in the end of this video!!! ❤ it really touched my heart! ❤❤❤
I use medium pine shaving in coop with comb heaters over perch and use straw in runs with plastic tarps surrounding runs leaving a foot gap at top in the middle and use heated waterers 😊 been working just fine in Indiana
Also have vents with fans in top of coop to keep fumes and moisture out 😊
Nothing beats straw for bedding. It is a Natural bedding it is cheap, biodegrades quickly, and has a good installation value. If you change it every week, your critters will be dry and happy.
Your videos are so great and you know what what you said at the end was so nice and they do love the leaves for bedding thank you
I use pine flakes in the coupe. straw and pine flakes in the Run wrapped 4 ft high with clear 4 mil. plastic🐓
I love your glasses! They’re so cute!
I used alfalfa hay for years. I only got rid of it because I had mites that refused to go away. I could not have the deep litter method using hay. Funny I used to use sand too. Now I use pine shavings.
I hope I didn't sounds judgey in the video! That's never my intention. I know so many folks who love sand. No matter what, I think everyone should ultimately do what works best for them!
I live in a Very Northern State Where temps drop below zero overnight often. I used Sand Once, It was very cold in the Winter. I used Straw Bales from a Farmer Once (Never Again) it caused a Northern Fowl Mite Invasion. I do buy chopped Straw in packages from T.S.~ But My go to Bedding is Pine Shavings, I buy five bags of fine cut for the Base and five bags of the flakes for the top layer. It keeps it nice and comfortable. (The fine cut is a lot more dense when compacted) 🐔🐔
@@WelcometoChickenlandia You did not and you never do sound that way. I just thought it was funny that I did the wrong things at the top of wrong things to do list.
@@DeeJayMarie I will use straw for a path in the snow. They love it because it has seeds in it. It gives them something to do in the winter besides hide in the coop.
Poplar shavings work for our flocks. I drive to the next county and load up as much as I can in a large van. Reminds me, this weekend, we need to do the deep method and we have plenty of shavings still on hand from a run I did in the summer... we have not had a frost in north-eastern Alabama on our mountain YET, but oh, we know that it is coming! I like the Poplar better than aspen shavings (and certainly better than pine). I haven't seen the hemp shavings, but our hen nests are hemp. I think I will order some to sprinkle on top, as you have. Thank you again for a great episode.
Never heard of poplar shavings before. Will have to check it out.
❤ are there message boards you recommend? I hatched out an ALL white americana/Easter egger Roo and two chestnut-reds roo. They are eating all the good stuff, so they may go in my pot. Not sure how rare these birds are. ❤ Thanks Dahalia ❤
I use chop straw, I was happy to see it was on your list. Take care!
we’re right in the path of the current atmospheric river (NW Cal) - everything’s wet! I’ve set up a tent, covered with tarps clamped on, on my deck, until our county has a chance to drain. I have a small tent with roosts in the house at night. Pine shavings in both tents for the moment!
Thank you! I also use hemp. We love it.
Hemp is where it's at ❤
I would love to use hemp, but I can’t get it anywhere in my town and having it shipped is ridiculously expensive. If they ever come up with a cost-effective way to get it, I would be all over it.
Hemp stalks are also good for composting toilets. It's got a good particle size that you can mix with fine sawdust.
Dahlia, I learned so much from you. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us 😊
I only use Hemp bedding!! It's absolutely amazing
Is your chicken at the begining and Andalusian? She looks and sounds just like my Nightshade who is a bantam Andalusian. PS I live in Alaska and we get cold. I have some great heat methods.
for folks on a budget - shredded newspaper/office paper/thin cardboard is a great alternative and pretty much free, other than the time to shred it. it makes great compost in a deep litter system too.
Great idea ty ! I will try it this winter in western New York !
Mine started eating it immediately so I had to turn around and take it out. Plus if it gets wet it’s an awful mess.
I use hemp in the coop and the coarse straw in the covered part of the run here in zone 7a/b. Thank you for sharing!!
WOW Navaro is a beautiful chicken!!!!!🥰
Thanks so much for all of the useful info on bedding today. Just love all that you share with us.
Love your videos had to giggle you said no dust. You just got done putting down the hemp. You had dust underneath your nose lol God bless you keep doing what you do.
I use sand, but I don't want my chickens to be cold. Can you mix hemp and straw with sand?
Great video Dalia!! 😊 The #1 bedding had me blushing! You're so sweet!!
I use pine pellets on the base and shavings on top of that. It controls moisture really well.
I have only 3 aging hens. They do not use the roost bars anymore but sleep on the floor of the coop. I live in Arkansas with tolerable winters but I want the girls warm and safe.
Do you have any recommendations for their bedding or how to accommodate their limitations?
Our coop is relatively small. I thought about how to lift them off the floor but haven't got a clue. Two of them seem to have some vision problems.
We use a combination of shavings and straw deep litter. The straw keeps the dust down and composts really well, and the wood shavings keep it really dry. In the PNW that can be a real challenge.
I'm in a small town and there is limited stuff to choose from, shavings is the only reasonably priced option. I use Pine bark mulch in their outdoor cage and open up a large run during the day. Does Hemp compost down quickly? I use the pine shavings as a starter for compost with grass clippings and offal as Freedom Ranger chickens is part of my operation (no packed out factory farm here). Everything gets recycled back to growing food, even if its mulch for trees.
Pine is actually antibacterial, some people drink pine needle tea, high in vitamin c.
I use pine shavings works great in the desert. Straw i use sometimes but 17.00 a bale is exspensive compared to 8.50 a bale to pine shavings. I use both to throw in my garden when i clean the coop put fresh bedding down
Btw I have not seen hemp at tractor supply
Yep I got my bales of chips don't work well with moisture but, they love that straw . 10:39
I'll never use straw again. Horse folks say every time they use hay in winter ( goes for straw too) they get lice or mites. The alfalfa field beside me has mites. Trying to treat chickens for bugs in winter is no fun for anyone. I love the pellets/ sawdust personally.