Chicken coop bedding: types and how to do it yourself for the winter

The chicken coop floor mat should be dry and soft. Bedding material must absorb moisture, absorb unpleasant odors, and protect birds from injury. In winter, a thick layer of straw or sawdust mixed with decaying manure will release heat and heat the floor. True, to start such a process, you need to treat the coating with a biological product that contains beneficial bacteria.

Working principle and advantages of chicken coop litter

In the room where chickens are kept, there should be bedding on the floor. The he alth of the bird depends on its type and quality.The litter should quickly absorb moisture from the manure and not prevent it from evaporating as a result of bacterial fermentation. Bedding material in the summer will not allow the development of harmful microorganisms, and in the winter it will insulate the floor.

Chicken bed features:

• dry;
• soft;
• clean;
• comfortable.

Properties that the bedding material should have:

• excellent moisture absorption;
• heat capacity;
• gas absorption capacity;
• good thermal insulation;
• bactericidal;
• do not stick to the skin and feathers;
• do not contain toxic substances.

Litter Benefits:

• prevents disease in chickens;
• leaves the floor soft, dry and warm;
• absorbs moisture;
• keeps bad odors away.

Organic bedding material is used in the chicken coop: scrap, sawdust, peat, sand, dry leaves. The cost of purchasing such a bedding is minimal. In addition, a natural habitat is being created for the bird.

Classification of floor mats

Litter in the house can be changed daily or periodically. It differs in the depth of the flooring and in the materials used.

In depth

The litter is thin and deep. The thickness of the flooring depends on the time of year and the frequency of change.

The thin coating consists of a small amount of material. The thickness of the flooring is 12-21 centimeters. A thin layer of straw or sawdust is spread on the floor in the summer and cleaned every week.

Deep bedding is more suitable for the winter months. The thickness of the layer is from 30 to 50 centimeters. This coating allows you to insulate the floor in the house. First, a layer of 32 centimeters is poured. When it becomes dirty, it is not removed, but fresh, dry material is simply added on top.

Biochemical processes will take place in the bottom layer: bird waste will decompose, heat will be released. Deep bedding is not removed from autumn to spring. However, anaerobic bacteria can become active in it, as a result of which rotting processes will begin. Birds can develop serious illnesses.

A biological product with bifidobacteria will help prevent negative consequences. This tool stops the processes of decay and turns manure into compost.

Based on materials used

You can make your own organic bedding. Straw, sand, hay, peat or sawdust are used as floor coverings for the poultry house. These materials perfectly absorb moisture, and cost a penny.

Bacteria chicken coop bedding

In autumn, before the onset of cold weather, you can lay a thick layer of hay or sawdust in the house and treat it with a preparation consisting of beneficial microorganisms. Bacteria will convert the manure into compost. As a result of such a reaction, heat will be released.

The fermentation bedding will ensure the decomposition of waste products of chickens, the release of heat and the heating of the surface to +26… +35 degrees, and the additives that make up the bacterial preparation will neutralize unpleasant odors.

There are a huge number of biological products for the preparation of bacterial litter in poultry houses (BioGerm, Netto-Plast, Bio-Side, Baikal EM1).

Hay and straw

These natural materials are in any agriculture.Hay and straw are harvested in the summer: cut grass or stalks of cereal crops are dried in the sun, stacked, covered with foil, crushed before use. Then spread on the floor as needed.

Hay and straw quickly absorb moisture, neutralize odors, retain heat, and are completely safe for birds.

Dry leaves

Dry leaves that have fallen from the trees can be laid on the floor of the house. True, before use, the foliage can be crushed. For a chicken coop, you can use leaves of maple, linden, birch, walnut. The main thing is that they are dry, without signs of decay or mold.

Dry moss

Moss (sphagnum) absorbs moisture well and neutralizes unpleasant odors. It grows in a swamp, it is not so easy to collect it. You can combine sphagnum with sawdust, that is, spend moss more economically.

Peat

This natural material absorbs carbon dioxide and ammonia evaporation well. Peat is taken in its pure form or mixed with other materials. Peat bedding has antiseptic properties, helps to avoid infectious diseases. Peat must be dry and crushed. In the southern latitudes, instead of peat, you can take sand.

Needles

The floor of the chicken coop can be covered with needles. True, sharp needles can injure the delicate skin of chicken legs. It is better to finely chop the needles. It should be remembered that such material contains many biologically active substances and phytoncides. Vapors of essential oils in high concentrations can affect the well-being of birds. It is better to mix needles with other organic materials.

Wood chips

Cheap and affordable material. Sawdust quickly absorbs moisture, retains unpleasant odors, melts and releases heat even without the use of fermentation agents.In addition, chickens love to dig in such a substrate. Sometimes hungry birds swallow sawdust. Better not to let this happen and feed the chickens to their fill.

Selection and Producers

Deep bedding for the winter can be populated with beneficial bacteria. First you need to buy a powdered or liquid fermentation preparation. The bacteria will start a biological reaction, during which the waste products of birds will decompose and release heat.

In winter, the cold floor will become warm even without heaters.

Microorganisms settled in bedding organic material heat it up to 36 degrees Celsius.

The fermentation preparation is scattered or spilled over straw, hay, sawdust. The bacteria present in it neutralize putrefactive microbes, chicken manure will decompose slowly. Retail outlets offer a huge amount of bacterial bedding products.They contain the same bacteria, and such drugs differ only in price.

List of popular fermentation products:

1. BioGerm. German preparation, brown powder. Used to make bacterial bedding. Good at neutralizing bad odors. No more than 100 grams of a biological product is taken per 1 square meter.
2. Net-Plast. Chinese biological product consisting of fermented milk and photosynthetic microorganisms. Bacteria settle in the litter, intensively and actively work, releasing heat. No more than 100 grams of a biological product is taken per 1 square meter.
3. Bioside. domestic biopreparation. Dry powder is scattered on the litter. Organics under the action of bacteria are processed into compost, during this process heat is released. For 1 square meter take no more than 50 grams of a biological product.
4. Baikal EM 1. Domestic biological product for creating bacterial litter.This liquid concentrated product is used as a fertilizer. However, it contains beneficial bacteria that process the manure into compost with the release of heat. One glass of Baikal is dissolved in 12 liters of water, then the bedding is irrigated with the solution.

The nuances of using bedding with bacteria

The fermentation bed will function if it is correctly run, that is, laid down. First of all, the floor in the bird house must be thoroughly cleaned and dried. Then cover with hay, sawdust or other organic material.

The thickness of the layer should be 22-32 centimeters. It is desirable to trample down the bedding material. From above you need to pour a little fermentation preparation. The powdered bedding material can then be sprinkled lightly with water. The liquid must not contain chlorine, otherwise the microorganisms will die.

The activity of bacteria is checked in a week. If the floor is warm, then the microorganisms are working as they should. From time to time, the bedding material must be loosened to provide oxygen to the bacteria.

What you need to pay attention to:

• for ventilation - in its absence, the humidity in the chicken coop will increase;
• for flooring - preferably stone or tile;
• on the quality of bedding material - must be organic.

Benefits of keeping chickens on litter treated with a biological product:

• produces a lot of heat, floor heating;
• does not develop pathogens;
• chickens don't get sick;
• it turns out ready-made compost for fertilizer;
• may lie on the floor for a long time.

How to put and remove bedding

Litter organic material is laid on a dry and clean floor with a pitchfork or shovel. Sawdust or hay should completely cover the surface. The layer thickness may vary. In summer - no more than 10-20 centimeters, in winter - more than 30 centimeters.

The top layer of bedding material must be dry. In summer, wet and soiled bedding can be raked out. In winter, a little dry material is laid on top of the wet layer, and the flooring is raked out only in the spring.

When to launch chickens?

The floor in the poultry house is covered with dry straw or sawdust and the chickens are immediately put into the house. You can do this event during the day, when the birds are walking on the street.

If the bedding material is treated with a biological product, you need to wait 2-3 days for the bacteria to become active, and then put the chickens in the coop.

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