Poultry problems? Your bedding doesn’t only have direct impact on odor control and dust levels… it could be causing health issues with your birds! Having the wrong coop bedding can lead to poor development, feed conversion, foot sores and more.
Cheerful Chicks
Raising healthy chickens starts with healthy chicks. Their tiny bodies will require extra consideration when selecting a bedding that is appropriate for this fragile developmental stage. You will want to choose a non-slip material as to avoid spraddle leg, a condition that causes their legs to splay. Some chicks are born with it, and in some cases correct it on their own within a day or two. If they don’t though, you may need to intervene. While they will chirp and complain about it, their little legs can be adjusted with a band-aid or tape. One way to help avoid the condition worsening, or altogether, is to stay away from plastic or cardboard and bed them on surfaces with good traction. So if you are hatching your own chicks, move them out of the incubator right away and into a container with bedding layered with paper towels. Using paper towels will also ensure they don’t mistake the bedding underneath as food, in turn encouraging them to find their food bowl.
Changing Your Bedding
After about four days, you can introduce them to their more permanent bedding. General maintenance and cleanout will be determined by what type of bedding you choose. Let’s take a look at some of the most standard types of bedding material- wood shavings, sand, and straw.
Shavings
Nearly every feed store, pet store, and hardware store sells wood shavings. They’re inexpensive, lightweight, and easy to clean out. Sounds pretty nice, but this is the bare minimum of what we’re looking for! As far as odor-control, absorbency, and cleanliness, it’s not going to be your best choice. If you do not clean out the material regularly, it becomes the perfect environment to breed bacteria. Another important consideration is the type of shavings. For instance, some brands deodorize their shavings with harmful aromatic oils that can negatively impact your birds’ respiratory tracts. Both pine and cedar shavings can also harm your birds’ health as they can cause foot sores and contain plicatic acid, which can harm the lungs and liver. Opt for larger cut, untreated wood chips. They will give you the least dust and be the most breathable option here. Just be wary if you are also raising ducklings- wood chips can be fatal to them if ingested.
Sand
We’re going to stress the quality of material again as a determining factor! Play sand is too dusty, so you may want to consider construction grade sand, despite it being a little heavier. Bacteria and foot ulcers are negligible concerns if you choose sand as well. The only setbacks are that it’s not compostable, compacts easily, becomes too hot under a heat lamp, and takes days to dry out if it gets wet. Overall all though, sand makes a pretty healthy bedding option.
Straw
Untreated straw and hay come with a few tradeoffs… while they manage dust levels, keep birds warm, and help waste compost naturally, it needs to be turned often, doesn’t absorb moisture or odor well, and warrants a complete cleanout more regularly than other material. Straw is a perfect example of saving you money upfront but costing more in the long term!
A Modern Bedding Solution
At PittMoss, we have developed a sustainable, organic bedding product utilizing upcycled newspaper and cardboard*. Roost is absorbent, lightweight, pH neutral, odor-absorbing, and compostable. When compared to pine shavings, our trials showed:
- 7% increase in bird weight
- 4.3% improvement in feed conversion rate
- 50% reduction in sores and blisters on feet
- 5% mortality rate reduction
- 35% lower ammonia
- 2.4X more absorbent
- Lasts 4X longer
- In a consumer survey, 98% indicated they would repurchase
Photo from Lamppost Farm
While most bedding options pose limited threat with the right management style, it’s important to understand all the alternatives so that you can maintain a clean, healthy environment for your birds.
*We use clean inputs with soy-based, non-toxic inks
Additional sources
Are Cedar Shavings Safe For Chicken? What’s The Best Bedding?
https://www.raising-happy-chickens.com/bedding-in-the-brooder.html
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