[Newbie]

I put cardboard with wood shavings (snowflake) under the prches and in the nesting boxes, makes it much easier to clean up after them.  I f you live in Surrey there is someone on ebay who does mulch and chippings by the trailer load for £60.00.  wish he lived near me!!

[GrannieAnnie]

Sawdust is not good for them Boxfanman, they can ingest it and as its so dusty, can lead to respiratory problems.

We don't use paper at all in the house as Brian worries that the ink on newspaper may harm the chooks.  The coops have shavings and straw, but I can't really advise about the run as ours are all dirt.

If you can get 300l of woodbark for £10, do B&Q still have the bags of compost 4x75l for £10?  That way, after the compst is too dirty for the chooks, you can put it on your compost heap and have loads of lovely compost?!!!!!!

Oh and PS!!  If you are only just getting your chooks on Saturday, you're questions are only just beginning, so don't say its the last question!!!!           Because it won't be!

I'll bow down to you knowledge, but thought that softwood was fine, but hardwood was an issue...

I'll keep my gob shut in future :oops:

Don't be silly, we all live and learn.  This time last year the last thing on my mind as rearing chickens!  But its amazing how much you learn when you suddenly find yourself with 300 day old chicks!

And I can honestly say that I have learned more from this forum than I have from anywhere else!!!!!

And you are right, hardwood isn't good for them!

[Kate and her Ducks]

The other problem I have had with wood shavings is composting it down. The straw (and duck poo) composts down really quickly but the wood shavings seem to hang around unaltered for ages. Puts me off it both in the house and in the compost after.

[GrannieAnnie]

I'm looking into this Aubiose idea, looks interesting, but I've never seen it around these parts!!!

[Kate and her Ducks]

Don't know anything about it :oops:

[GrannieAnnie]

Compost Queen uses it in her nest boxes, its made from hemp apparently, and composts down very quickly, they use it for horses.

http://www.aubiose.co.uk/

[Foxy]

I'm looking into this Aubiose idea, looks interesting, but I've never seen it around these parts!!!

I use something similar grannie its called "easibed" and highly absorbent. Kate I find it much better than woodshavings for the ducks plus it smells nice!

[blulagoo]

I read that if you use a saucer put some pebbles in it and then they don't drown so easily.  Sounds sensible to me

[poultrygeist]

Found a new place for all things horsey today. Which of course means some things chickeny. Annie, it's the Pinchbeck Bulb Museum garden centre that has a tack/pet shop attached.

Got some purple spray at last and the do all the different beddings and feeds though I think they may be a pound or two above base rate.

I'll see if they do any hemp based bedding because I too find the wood shavings a pain. I try to minimise the amount I put in the compost at a time but needs must.

Rob

[karlooben]

i get my wood chippings for £20 or £40 for a great big truck load , normally about 10 tons in a load ,lol. we use that on the pave ways on the allotment plots .

where i am building my chick run an house on my second plot was a garden an wildlife patch but thats been moved now to make way for  the chicks , but am glad i found this  post as i still have small about of bark left on the now bare soil an i was wandering if i needed to clean that rite up but seems  like i dont need to now .i am going to use shavings i get for my   horses, its shavings blended with tiny bits of straw and its mixed with eculaptus { cant spell that word    its for horses with sensitive breathing smells lovely to.