For those of you who keep chickens, what type of "litter" method do you use in y

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   Seafarer Mamaposted 11 years ago

   For those of you who keep chickens, what type of "litter" method do you use in your coop?
   
   We have been using hay, but that has resulted in 2 of our chickens dying of impacted crops, and otherwise having their innards clogged with lay, which their water or food had spilled into. My chicken co-housing chicken coop and I are trying to find ways to prevent this happening to any more of our chickens.
   
   

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   billybucposted 11 years ago

   We use hay but we haven't run into that problem at all....wish I could be of more help to you.

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      Seafarer Mamaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      's'allright, Bill. Thanks for stopping by. :0)

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   selisalisterposted 11 years ago

   Hi. Sorry to hear about your chickens. We used hay. However, we changed the hay and cleaned out their nests at least once a week.

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      Seafarer Mamaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your thoughtful response,.selisalister. We already have a day each week where the hay is cleaned out and new hay is put on..so I wonder what other protections need to be in place.

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      selisalisterposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I do apologize for not being able to help. Good luck.

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   Robinposted 11 years ago

   
   
   We use washed construction sand - not play sand.  I live by the methods of the Chicken Chick.  Here's her article on litter: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/0 … itter.html  This is our first round of chickens, so her advice has been priceless.
   
   I've been really happy with the sand.  When it rains, you need to move it around quickly or replace it because the poop and sand get really stinky, but it looks like your coop is mostly indoors.  We have our coop on our deck.  Two 60 lb bags filled our coop. 

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      Seafarer Mamaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Robin ~ Thank you. I will check to see what our sand sources are...and would definitely not use play sand, either, for a number of reasons.
      
      Our group does consult The Chicken Chick. Love her blog...which has been very useful to us. ~:0)

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5. 76

   Seafarer Mamaposted 11 years ago

   Thank you to all who have responded to my question with wisdom from their/your own experiences!
   
   On our chicken co-op email thread, we have discussed switching to sand and the possibility that they did not get enough grit because the container we placed the grit in may have been troublesome for them to access....or they just didn't like it.  We will be experimenting with different containers to see if more gets consumed than before.

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      Robinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I put the grit in their food.  Should I be putting it in a separate container?  Also, don't they eat some of the sand as their grit?

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   Rochelle Frankposted 11 years ago

   We don't use hay, but we do use straw. (There is a difference, you know.) I think chickens would be more likely to eat hay and less likely to eat straw.

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      Seafarer Mamaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, important distinction!  Thanks, for the reminder,, Rochelle.Will discuss with the rest of my "coop" co-op members. ~:0)

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