Frequent readers will remember that a few weeks ago we were conducting an experiment using coffee chaff (courtesy of Upcycle Northwest) as bedding material in the chicken coop. At the beginning of our chaff trial, I wasn't convinced as to its usefulness.
Well, I am now a chaff convert, plain and simple.
My biggest complaint with the chaff was that it was too light and was constantly floating into the chicken's water. Which is still my biggest complaint. But light-as-a-feather chaff also means that chicken droppings that accumulate throughout the night are nicely coated as well. Greta gives a quick flap and presto!, chicken poo has conveniently been hidden by a nice layer of sweet-smelling chaff. This cuts down significantly on odor and looks prettier, too. The pine shavings that we used previously quickly became discolored, molded easily, and built up quickly over the course of a few weeks. I used to fill an entire wheelbarrow with used shavings. The chaff is so light that adding a few scoopfuls once in a while isn't a problem, when it comes to mucking out the coop at a later date.
Hooray for the chaff!
