Walnut shells for litter

[SusanH]

Hi all. I haven't been here in a while, so forgive me if I should be posting this somewhere else. I asked a couple of years ago if anyone had tried ground walnut shells for litter. Someone had posted about how important it was to keep the coop dry, and someone else had suggested that for this reason they recommended sand, especially in the winter.
So I tried ground walnut shells, the one sold by Princess Auto for sandblasting. It works like a charm! It stays dry, and seems to desiccate droppings (I use a tray under the roost to catch most). It lasts forever. I have added a bag but never actually replaced it. The chickens don't eat it, so the potential toxicity isn't an issue. This is my third year now, so I think this experiment was a success.
Note that I still have only three chickens! My plans to expand the flock were changed by family health issues, but maybe this year...anyway, I don't know if it would work as well for larger flocks.
My coop is 4x8 and one 50 lb bag covers to 2". Price keeps going up. Today it was $39, but when it lasts more than a year, it's a bargain.
Has anyone else tried this in the meantime? I would like to hear your experience esp with more chickens.
Thanks!

[WLLady]

ah crap, i wish i weren't allergic to nuts!

[baronrenfrew]

hey, thanks for the info!
nut shells will decompose outdoors and its doubtful that insects will live in it.

[Killerbunny]

Is there any concern about the juglones present (if they are)?

[labradors]

I'm wondering about that too KB. I compost my chicken droppings to use on my veggie garden and don't really want to kill everything off! Great idea otherwise!

I use pine shavings (which I hate because it's horrid to breathe in - makes me cough). I mix in some dried grass clippings when we have them, and when they aren't covered in dandelion seeds (not wanting them in the compost either). I also added in some dead leaves in the fall, and I saved a few bags of leaves to use in the spring. I just hope that the mice haven't had a field day in those bags!!!!

Linda

[labradors]

Just Googled walnut shells and found the following:
Not good for veggies (especially members of the Solanaceae family – aubergine, tomatoes & potatoes).

Drat
Linda

[SusanH]

Thank you. I always get such good insights from this forum. I hadn't thought about the composting angle! So I looked into it and found a few tidbits.
1. Juglone is produced by black walnut, not other walnuts. But since I don't know what kind of walnuts they grind for blasting, let's assume I have juglone.
2. There are differing opinions about walnut shells in compost. My favourite one :) says it takes forty days for the juglone to break down. Since I compost my chicken manure at least a year, I figure I am ok, but I will keep it separate and try one bed of Tomatoes with each chicken and non to see if there is a problem.
3. There is also the factor of quantity. I use the litter rake gadget designed by somebody on this forum, made from a fan rake, to lift the droppings out of the litter, so I only get a little bit of ground walnut that clings to the droppings.
I forgot to mention that everyone comments that my chicken coop has no smell.
I have been using leaves to cover the cement floor of the run. I don't rake leaves myself, but regularly steal other people's nicely bagged ones in the autumn for making compost and for the coop. It gives the hens something to scratch around in. They get the ashes from the wood stove as a dust bath. My girls (Layla, Lola, and Lulu) are happy to help me recycle!

[baronrenfrew]

good news for you Susan: its extremely unlikely to find juglone in the walnut shells you are buying.

there is only one semi-commercial producer of black walnuts in North America and dozens with carpathian ("ordinary or English") walnuts and they would have the capacity to bag and sell the nutshells.
i would say what world black walnut production is less than 5% (probably less than 1%) the production of carpathians due to the great difficulty getting the meat out of a black walnut, the hardness of the shell, and the different flavour characteristics.

if you are really concerned you can find Opta minerals (supplier to princess auto) online and call them. https://www.optaminerals.com

Bert Weiss, executive member of ECSONG - Eastern Chapter Society of Ontario Nut Growers

[Killerbunny]

Great info Bert
Thx!

[SusanH]

Thanks! That's good to know!