Litter – A Versatile Word and Odd One in Chicken Vocabulary

“Bedding” means soft wood chips or straw in a horse or cow’s stall But if the same material is in a chicken coop it’s “litter” That seems weird

 

When applied to chickens the word “litter” has nothing to do with trash scattered along a road The word is derived from the ancient Latin lectos which meant “bed” and was used to describe a flat platform carried by husky men with the emperor riding on top   The French changed the word to litiere and used it differently  French linguist, Mark Norlander, translated it to mean, “a bed of soft and insulating

The Right Bedding for Your Coop

One of the most common questions a new chicken owner asks is, “what is the right bedding for my coop?”

Although a common question, the answer might surprise you, even if you are an experienced chicken owner

Not much scientific research has been devoted to the right bedding for backyard flock owners Most research has been poured into industrial sized chicken broiler farms At these farms, heavy bodied Cornish Cross meat chickens eat, poop, and sleep all in the same place-on the ground Since they sleep on the ground, the material they lay in is technically called bedding These chickens are