Coop Bedding Made from Scratch 🐓 with ‘treats’ built-in. SEE description for recipe.

Описание: Here we are making homemade chicken bedding.

Recipe below in order of quantity. Example,
Wood chips comprise most of the bedding.

1. Wood chips from our local tree service.
We sift them through a homemade sifter created from a 1/4” hardware cloth.
Ours chips are a mix of pines, palm tree, mesquite, desert willow, etc.

2. ‘Uncharged’ Bio Char - This is a helpful ingredient, as it helps reduce & manage ammonia odor that can lead to respiratory issues for humans & chickens alike. The nitrogen binds with ammonia & neutralizes it.
Another good reason is … When you are removing the bedding & it gets added to your compost; your compost will get an extra boost from the bio char component.
An extra way bio char aids the coop is that it is absorbent for spills & it manages bacteria/parasites, so bedding lasts longer. Lastly, chickens like to peck at bio char. If you know how activated charcoal works, then the bio char acts similarly. It will energize their digestive track by drawing toxins to bio char ingested & then the toxins get released as they defecate.

3. Sand & small gravel. The necessary ‘chicken grit’ is built-into the bedding. The sand is also absorbent for liquids. And it makes a nice feel with the sifted compost and other components.

4. Diatomaceous Earth (D.E.) - For parasites & other unwanted pests. Your chickens will inevitably eat some of this fine powder that will kill unwanted bacteria & parasites in their digestive system.

5. Herbs & Flowers:
Marigolds, oregano, thyme, rosemary, lavender, mint leaves.

We love adding our Homegrown French marigold flowers to our chicken’s diets! We love these French marigolds that we buy from Baker Seeds …
www.baker seeds.com
They are super easy to grow. And they make a lot of seeds!..so you only have to buy seeds once.
Marigolds are a powerhouse of a ‘companion plant’ in the garden as they deter nematodes. A nematode is a micro worm that attacks your plant’s roots, thus, killing or not allowing your garden plant to ‘thrive’. And, we are all about thriving naturally on this channel⚡️🌼☀️.
Marigolds help your chickens, as they create healthier soil for the garden where you may share your garden with your chickens, as we do. Additionally, they create richer, more golden yolks in the eggs. But, also, the digested marigold can lower the cholesterol in the eggs you collect & eat from your chickens. How incredible is that☀️
When you give marigolds to your chickens, the marigolds can heighten their immune system and reduce any inflammation your flock may be experiencing.
Of course, humans can enjoy the marigolds directly by making tea with the flowers and leaves. This tea can calm digestive ills. Like chickens, marigolds reduce the inflammatory response in people, too. Marigolds are a great supportive element for human & chicken eyes.
I have used the leaves in salads & diy pesto. The leaves add a citrusy zing to pesto.
Rosemary grows well in the desert:; we have a large one & it feeds the bees nicely here. Adding it to the coop bedding, keeps flies away. It is another built-in treat like marigolds & chickens love it. You might even hang stalks in the coop for fun snacking.
We happen to have a lot of lavender flowers that we bought awhile back. It is fun to add it to the coop mix. Lavender, a member of the mint family, is a pest repellent for spiders, rodents, lice and mites. is antibacterial, anti microbial. I enjoy adding it to the egg-laying boxes for its pacifying effect.
We have a mix of mints growing in our garden. As noted above, rodents arent fond of mint. Mint is another plant to sweeten up your coop’s environment by keeping pesky rodents away.
Oregano’s presence in the coop combo is another major health benefit & yet another medicinal treat, as it can ward-off persistent parasites that can damage your flock’s digestive tract.