Many poultry farms have or will soon be cleaning out for spring. Some farms in the area are learning to handle and manage a new litter product – baled, kiln-dried shavings. These bales are approximately 700 pounds and are filled with compressed dry (10 percent moisture) shavings. In many cases baled litter can be delivered weeks, even months ahead of a scheduled cleanout. This fact alone allows for cleanouts and rebedding to occur in a narrower window of time.
Many farms clean out their poultry houses during spring
These bales can be moved and placed equidistant down the interior of the poultry house using a set of forks
These bales can be moved and placed equidistant down the interior of the poultry house using a set of forks
The outer poly and interior netting can be removed using a knife or box cutter.
These shaving can then be “ pushed around” using a front end loader or the forks.
The final process (and the most critical) is leveling the litter. This can best be accomplished using a Harley rake, a rotary rake, or a hay rake. The picture below is a picture of a Harley rake . This piece of equipment has a counter-rotating drum with teeth that under high RPM’s scatters and levels the shavings using the gauge wheels for depth. These devices can be rented and are used by the landscaping business to groom top soil.
Harley rake
The result from this process is a level floor. This allows for easier leveling of water and feed lines to improve feed and water access for day-old chicks.
Level bedding inside a poultry house
We have bales here in Canada which are compressed at a 6-1 ratio. We compress 350 cubic feet into a 46x46x46 bale. We get 275 cubic feet out of the opened, and expanded bales. We are able to ship them, if there are any challenges getting a local supply of product. We are manufacturing these shavings exclusively for the bedding industry, out of kiln dried lumber. 12-13 of our bales is the equivalent to a 48 foot walking floor load of non compressed shavings. Wish you all the best.