Chicken Feed As Litter

[Jen RJ]

Hi all, I might be using the 'crumbles' sample as bird feed, as even when I tried it in a deeper pan (with water as the testing variable), it still 'broke' apart even with patience while waiting for it to bond. The texture of the coarser sample was quite 'chunky' in comparison to the 'mash' variety which I much prefer. Having grown up on a farm, I would say the chick feed for very young chicks has more clumping capacity than the crumbles as a form of litter.

I find it interesting that people are having different experiences; is it the product difference or the wording we are using to describe it.. I bought my samples from two different feed stores, as the first one only had the coarser granules which they did call 'crumbles', and my 'suspicions' told me that it might be a problem when I saw it. I bought a sampling anyway, but then I drove out to a Purina supply centre and they had both. Since I already had a sample of the 'crumbles', I asked if they had anything finer and I came home with a much finer textured form. I am sure it is primarily the same base, just chopped down finer, but I think it makes a difference in terms of its bonding potential.

So when some of you are talking about 'crumbles', how would YOU describe the texture of what you use compared to what I am describing? I don't want to tell people crumbles if that is not really the right word, given my experience with both forms.

Most definitely though, I am 'sold' on chicken feed, but will be targeting the much finer, non medicated texture.

The cats certainly aren't complaining, and to be proactive, I did put in a little baking soda. Do you think it is actually needed, or could I get away without it, from your experiences to date?

You know, I love sleuthing for creative and practical solutions.

 

[Jen RJ]

I was happy to see a fellow Ontarian post here! I've just now started looking in to chicken feed as cat litter. I'm currently using softwood pellets, about $7.50 for a 40lb bag. My cats are fine with the wood pellets, just it was suggested to me that chicken feed might be cheaper yet. Thanks for info, even if it was 7 years ago!