First, it'll be used as bedding in the chicken coop. For the past year, we've been using cedar shavings* that were the byproduct of a fence Dakota built a while back. He brought home 6 or 7 large trash bags of the shavings, which we used to line the floor of the coop. It worked really well and, better yet, was free. But, last weekend, the cedar shavings finally ran out, so it was off to a feed store in Burbank for a bale of hay.
Here it is lining the bottom of the coop, before I replaced the removable slatted floor. (That white stuff is diatomaceous earth, which is supposed to keep fleas and other bugs away.)
After the hay has served its purpose as a poop receptacle, it'll go onto its second life as mulch for my summer garden. I found out last year that a layer of mulch can make a BIG difference for my container plants like tomatoes and eggplants. And I know hay is also recommended as a mulch for squash hills.
I already put some hay scraps on my first container tomato of the season. Now that the temperature is rising, I know it'll help the plant stay perky and healthy.
* A note about cedar shavings and chickens: I have read on many message boards that cedar can be toxic to a chicken's respiratory system. That has not been my experience. We used cedar shavings for a year, and saw no ill effects for our hens. I should clarify that our chickens didn't bed down directly in the cedar. It was in a thin layer below the slats of the coop floor. I also know that Barbara Kilarski recommends cedar shavings in her book, Keep Chickens! So, I guess it's an individual choice for each chicken owner to make.
Where does one come by a bale of hay in the greater Los Angeles area?
We were trying to decide whether to use cedar shavings for our up and coming chicks. We've had chickens before and had used hay but wondered about the shavings....I think we'll stick with the hay. Its cheaper here and easier to get than the shavings are.
Sarah, we got the hay at Da Moor's Feed & Tack in Burbank. You can find hay at any feed store near an equestrian center, I think. Just try search online for feed stores in your general area.
we've been getting shavings here Kahoots Chatsworth. 10360 Mason Ave. Chatsworth, CA 91311
and also ORGANIC chicken feed!
I saw your chicken coop on Back Yard Chickens. Can you please tell me where you bought the plans for it?
Thanks,
Melissa
Hey Melissa,
My husband actually kind of made up the coop on his own, and improvised a bit while building it, so there are no plans. But you're not the first person to ask for them, so perhaps I'll nudge him to draw some up. I'll definitely post them on the blog if he does.
Thanks for the compliment, though!
I notice in her book Keep Chickens, Barbara Kilarski recommends spreading 8-12 inches of chopped straw over the chicken run. Do you use that amount? And do you use CHOPPED straw?
(We'll be picking up our baby chicks tomorrow! We're so excited.)
It really depends on what kind of coop/run you are keeping. Our run has a dirt floor that we turn/refresh weekly. We only use dry bedding--shavings and straw--inside the coop, where it's under the removable floor and in the nesting box. That's what works best for us and our two hens.
Some people use something called the "deep litter" method, which you can read about in backyard chickens. That may be what Barbara is referrring to. Oh, and the feed stores I called had never heard of "chopped straw." I think regular straw is fine. It's basically just something for them to scratch in and poop on.
One thing I've learned over the last year is that you have to figure out the process and setup that works for you and your hens. There are so many different opinions on how best to keep your chickens, but basically, if youmake sure they have food, water and a safe place to sleep, they'll be fine.
Have fun with your chicks! I'm jealous. They're SO cute when they're babies.
Thanks for the advice. Guess we're just worried about doing something "wrong". Guess the worst we could do is as you say, not give them the basic care, and love, that they deserve. I'll post pics of them when we pick them up. Can't wait.
Hello...really enjoy reading your blogs about gardening and chickens. We live in Oregon and our plans to move out of the city changed when the sale of our house fell through twice.....we will wait. In the meantime we plan to turn our un-used 10 x 15 foot dog run into a "chicken run", and then let them roam the yard for portions of the day. The only thing that I am concerned about is the concrete portion of the dog run. About 2/3's of the run is concrete but the other is dirt. Do you think that this would have an ill effect on the chickens? The concrete portion is covered by roofing...it rains ALOT here!
Hi Lisa. I think the concrete and dirt setup should be fine. I think many people in cold, wet climates have part or all of their chicken runs covered with concrete floors. Maybe you can sprinkle hay over the top on the concrete so the chickens have something to scratch at while they are inside. If you also provide them some perches--we use small branches from our yard--I think they'll have plenty to do. And if you're letting them out to free range some of the day, I suspect they'll be perfectly happy.