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The SmartBedz natural straw pellet is ideal for your pet as it:
  • extra long lasting
  • has up to 400% absorbency
  • is super odour binding
  • is dust extracted
  • is bio-degradable

Chicken Litter - Smartbedz for Chicken and Other Fowl

SmartBedz makes excellent chicken litter and can also be used for other types of fowl. This article gives general guidelines for keeping chickens and outlines how using SmartBedz as chicken litter integrates into your chicken keeping practices.

Using SmartBedz as Chicken Litter

SmartBedz Universal Bedding and Litter is a revolutionary straw pellet, which is 100% eco-friendly and bio-degradable. SmartBedz absorbs moisture and odours fast and effectively, is easy to store and use, and significantly reduces the time spent cleaning out compared to traditional products. It is highly suitable for use as chicken litter.

Once SmartBedz is laid down, the pellets will gradually break down into an absorbent fibrous bedding. This breakdown can be accelerated if required by spraying a little water over the pellets before use. Only the heavily soiled areas and solids need to be scooped out and replenished on a regular basis which means that SmartBedz is cost-effective to use.

SmartBedz chicken litter is dust extracted and heat treated during manufacture and as such should be suitable for pets and owners who suffer from allergies.

The super absorbent qualities of SmartBedz virtually eliminate the smell of ammonia, and the litter will last substantially longer than other litter products such as wood shavings and straw. Cleaning is easier due to the lack of caking and the fact that it can be easily shovelled. The pellets are also suitable for chicks and when used in the nesting boxes will produce much cleaner eggs.

Chicken Litter click here to buy our universal bedding litter from our online shop

Maintaining a Chicken Coop

A chicken house or coop performs several functions. Firstly, it needs to provide protection from predators such as foxes or dogs. Secondly, it needs to function as a shelter for your hens where they feel safe and comfortable enough to lay their eggs. And thirdly, it needs to give good protection from rain, wind and temperature extremes year round. To cope with a variety of weather conditions, it should be designed with vents that can be opened in warm weather or shut down to provide a dry, draft free area for your birds in adverse weather.

Chicken runs and coops come in many shapes, sizes and materials and the most suitable type will depend on how many chickens you have and what space you have to keep them. One of the most popular types is an ark, which is a triangular construction incorporating a nesting area and perches with an outside area to contain your chickens. Sometimes these are on wheels to make it easy to move them around the garden and stop any particular area becoming over grazed. Since many chicken keepers are also keen environmentalists, there are also quite a lot of environmentally friendly coops now available, some of which are made from recycled materials.

Inside the coop, various types of internal fitting are required to meet the natural behaviour requirements of chickens. The most important features are nesting boxes, perches, and drinkers and feeders.

Nesting boxes are necessary to allow laying and brooding (when a hen prefers to focus on incubation of eggs rather than just laying, and not wanting to leave the nest). If a nesting box is uncomfortable for the hen for any reason, perhaps due to dampness or excessive odour, this is likely to interfere with laying. Using SmartBedz as chicken litter in nesting boxes keeps them dry and odour free. It also draws moisture and dirt away from the surface of the litter, resulting in much cleaner eggs.

As well as the nesting boxes, it is important that the inside of the rest of the coop is dry and hygienic. This means using chicken litter on the floor, to absorb moisture from droppings and to deal with any water spills.

It is well known that keeping chickens happy and stress free is the best way to achieve a good laying yield - the smallest amount of stress can cause a reduction or cessation of laying. Providing a coop which has plentiful food and water and which feels safe is an essential part of creating a stress-free environment for your chickens. One of the factors which affects how safe a chicken feels is the frequency of handling and moving. Using an extra long-lasting chicken litter such as SmartBedz helps to minimise the need to intrude into the coop for cleaning purposes generally. SmartBedz does not need to be completely replaced on each cleaning - needing just occasional removal of solids and turning of moist areas to refresh the bed - which further minimises intrusion. SmartBedz is designed not to cake up into clumps, which makes it much easier to scoop out selected areas and to turn over the litter to refresh it. We have found with our own chickens that turning the litter occasionally freshens it up and helps the bed last longer. And for drink spills, SmartBedz can simply be turned and will dry out again.

Another source of stress for chickens is the inability to carry out natural behaviours. In particular, chickens are flock birds that need to have other birds for company and like to scratch around together. Putting down SmartBedz pellets and straw provides an interesting area for scratching and pecking and helps to occupy their time.

After nesting boxes, the next most important items of coop furniture are perches and food and water containers. The natural way for a bird to sleep is roosting off the ground on a perch and they are happier like this. This also helps to prevent external parasites and prevents them lying in their own droppings. Using extra SmartBedz directly under perches helps to deal with the additional droppings expected in that area.

Feeding Your Chickens

Healthy chickens need a constant supply of fresh clean water and clean dry food. Chicken feeders and drinkers need to be placed conveniently throughout the chicken coop for easy access. These are available in galvanised steel or plastic to suit your budget. The food you provide will depend on the age of your chickens. Chicks will start on “chick crumbs” and soon move on to growers mash or pellets. They should be moved on to layers mash or pellets when they are 16 to 18 weeks old.

Ideally, feeders and drinkers should be hung well above floor level, but at a convenient height for the chickens to drink and eat from. This generally prevents your chickens messing on them or litter getting into them. Chickens also need grit in order to digest their food. If they are allowed to roam free range then it is likely they will get enough grit in their diet, however, it is not expensive so there is no harm in providing this in any case. Once again it is best to provide this in a container off the floor for hygiene reasons. To provide strong and good quality eggs chickens will also need a supply of calcium carbonate such as oyster shells - this may be mixed with the grit although sometimes this is provided in the feed.

Maintaining the Health of Your Chickens

As well as providing physical safety and appropriate nutrition, the chicken keeper also needs to keep a constant watch for parasites such as red mite and worms. These conditions will affect the health and therefore the laying potential of affected chickens, and if untreated will quickly spread to the whole flock. Chickens will need worming perhaps three times a year and the easiest way to do this is with an additive that is simply put in their water. However eggs produced while using this method of worming cannot be eaten. Natural herbal pellets are now available which mean you can still eat the eggs whilst they are being wormed.

Red mite is also a common problem, and many chicken keepers regularly use red mite powder in the coop to prevent an infestation. Once these have become established there is no answer but to use chemicals to clear up them up. However, whilst using SmartBedz over the past year it has been noticeable that we have had no problems with mite. This may be because it promotes generally better levels of hygiene, making it harder for mites to get established.

Summary of Benefits of Using SmartBedz as Chicken Litter

Directions for Use 
Place approximately 2cm of SmartBedz pellets in nest boxes and internal solid floors.
Over a period of time, SmartBedz will naturally break down to a soft bed with moisture migrating away from the top to leave the surface litter dry. For best results turn ground litter occasionally and remove solids from nest boxes when necessary.
Empty and clean out when necessary.
You can use a scoop to clean out the nest boxes more regularly but it is important to use one with large enough holes to avoid waste - we recommend scoops with 11 or 12 mm square holes for best results.

Disposal
SmartBedz bio-degrades much more rapidly than wood shavings or straw to form a great fertiliser, compost or mulch. Sell it to your friends or use in the garden!

Chicken Litter click here to buy our universal bedding litter from our online shop