Here at Dandy's we have a couple of resident chickens, Bob and Lucy, and over the years have found lots of the products we stock are great for keeping them happy and healthy!
Chicken Coop Chips
Our Chicken Coop Chips are made from hardwood/white wood chippings. Using them in chicken coops and poultry runs are very popular due the clean appearance, free drainage, being almost dust-free and most importantly, chickens love to scratch around in them too! The smell of the chipped wood is great for keeping your coop fresh, as well as keep the floor warm and dry during the winter.
Hardwood Chips are easily cleaned and not quickly trampled into the mud; one of the key reasons they are used in animal enclosures and hen runs is that they are excellent at preventing muddy feet.
Grit Sand
Our Grit Sand (coarse sand) is inexpensive and droppings are easy to clean up by using a cat litter scoop.
Many chicken owners swear by Grit Sand as the easiest option and rake the droppings into the sand (rather than getting out the poop scoop!) so that it breaks down over time. You will need to remove the top layer every six months and top it up. The sand is free draining so great for outdoor runs, but can freeze during the winter so advise our Chips instead if it is outside.
Chickens kept on a sand flooring have cleaner feet and shorter nails. This sand is also great for their grit intake.
Wood Shavings
Wood shavings are a great bedding material for chicken coops and produce a lovely clean smell inside the coop. Hens love to lay their eggs in a deep bed of shavings! Our Shaving Bales are large, around 120ltrs and packed in waterproof packaging, so can be easily stored.
Horticultural Grit or 10mm Gravel
A rounded gravel such as our Horticultural Grit 2 - 6mm and 10mm Staffordshire Pink Gravel can be used as your poultry run flooring. Don't use anti-weed membrane underneath though as droppings will be washed through to the bottom by the rain or trampled in which can become quite smelly! To clean simply pop your hose over the top of the gravel.
Some chicken owners say that their chickens don’t like walking on small gravel, but it is a longer lasting option to hardwood or shavings so can be very cost effective.
