Hemp bedding

[polo]

Hi everyone - Happy New Year.

Just started using a hemp bedding after it was mentioned lots on here - its great!! Doing a semi deep litter thing where I have it rather thick and remove all the wet and dirty stuff daily. Its really sorted out all the damp condensation problems - its probably been the really cold weather and lots of hot chicks breathing all night!

Good recommendation- thanks vines, no going back now.

Polo

[Flummery]

I've found it the best stuff I've tried - mind you, I haven't tried straw. I find it scratchy and I'm sure the chickens would too. It also doesn't stick to the poo and come away cleanly like the hemp. Great stuff.

[minskey]

Is there a brand name for hemp bedding? I tried to find some and my local feed store had no idea what I was talking about. I have to change from shavings as it seems I have some sort of allergy to them; I end up ill in bed for a day or so with sinus infection when I clean my chooks. I use dustfree shavings, could it be the poo its self. if it carries on my chooks will have to go, which to me is awful.

[chris]

hemcore is one brand of it iirc..

[polo]

Chris is right - Hemcore is one, there is also Aubiose which is the same and is grown in France apparently. I have also heard of easibed and shreddybed - I think these are based on paper and are only available in some areas I think.

These are all horse bedding materials so go to your local horse feed suppliers and I reckon they would know.

Shame about your allergy - I really hope its to the wood shavings because it would be awful to have to give up the chooks. Have you tried using a good dust mask when mucking out?

Polo

[squibbs]

Aubiose to us seemed more absorbent than hemcore, but YMMV

[Glutton4...]

I use 'Bed-Down' in my Stable and Coops. I use this primarily because it is the cheapest, but I also like the way it performs. Like Hemp-based bedding, it coats the dung, making cleaning out far easier, and it doesn't seem to soil quite as quickly as other products. It is made from finely chopped straw (pieces are only about 1-2 cm long) mixed in with shavings. It is dust-extracted and has a lovely clean citrus smell. Well worth a try.

[Flummery]

I use an unnamed brand. They sell it in huge plastic sacks and it's called Hemp Bedding! Meant for horses I'm sure.

[chris]

Thanks for the mention of easibed - I found a stockist down the road from me. Have got in touch to see how much it is.. Mind you I have a rather large bag of shavings to get through first!!

[minskey]

Cheers for all your help grapes. i'm on a mission to find hemp bedding. Paper or the chopped straw sound good too. [will the chooks eat the chopped straw, what will happen if they do?]

Polo; guilty of not putting a mask on for cleaning, I can never find it. I know, I know....

[chris]

Mine eat straw in the nestboxes now, and also wood shavings that are small enough too.. But then again they've eaten polystyrene, expanding foam when I was fixing a window, paper - and that's just what I've seen them eat, goodness know what else

They're still popping eggs out and seem healthy enough mind!

[petal]

Bed down from your local horse saddlery place. The red bagged one, its called excel I think. its dust free and smells lovely, well for about a day....

[Flummery]

Our local dstributor only gets it if you order it! We get a non-named variety (referred to as Hemp Bedding) from a pet supply place. Lovely stuff too.

[Suechooks]

Hemcore are now doing one called Rapport and it's made from Rape. Looks similar, smells the same but over £1 a bale cheaper. Haven't opened mine yet but will "rapport" back when I do!

[cotton54321]

just as an idea, how much does it cost roughly per bale??