Coffee Grounds 101 – Do you use it in chicken coops, poisonous? (2024)

More and more people are learning about using [used] coffee grounds as bedding for their chicken coops - but is it even safe?! We're sure you know how important it is to keep a clean chicken coop; which of course also means scooping out the poop weekly, if not daily, and keeping your poop board, nest boxes and overall house clean. Using pine chips is a great substrate to use (compared to many others) that greatly improves odor, moisture content, mess, etc. The only problem is that the cost of pine chips can add up over time, even though they are considerably low. Not to mention that pine shavings break down into dust and fine particles that remain suspended in the air.

Then there are coffee grounds. Used coffee grounds as bedding for chicken coops is becoming increasingly popular, and aside from the smell of coffee in your coop, the honest truth is that most chickens don't actually "eat" it. That doesn't mean they don't poke it here and there; but even if you use your own caffeinated coffee grounds (yeah, not that good for chickens), use the ones you got at your local coffee shop oreven Starbucksshould be good.

Information: Coop bedding and management arerathera personal choice, and varies widely based on experience, geographic location, climate, available resources, etc. For us, coffee is the best choice, but that doesn't mean it has to be the best choice for you.

A number of years ago, bags of coffee grounds were not difficult to find at Tractor Supply Co (TSC for short), but not only were they more expensive than pine shavings, but they have since been discontinued by the manufacturer.

So the big questions are:What are the benefits of using coffee grounds?and of course,Is it SAFE to use coffee grounds in my home?

Fortunately, the answers to both questions are simple. Besides making your house smell like breakfast - who doesn't love the smell of coffee (which fades over time), old floors are given new life. So maybe even a third chance when (or if) you throw them away, because maybe they arecompostedAlso! The soil is perfect for scooping out cat litter, for example, and so you can easily remove most droppings from the garden every day.

Coffee is light and dust-free, making it easier to handle than sand, which cannot be composted or recycled. If you collect used sites yourself, the bed linen is also free! Who doesn't like free? And if you don't drink THAT much coffee, many local coffee shops will save their used coffee grounds for you upon request.

Is it safe to use coffee grounds for chickens?

This is the most common question and the most discussed question. In our experience, chickens do not eat the used coffee grounds in their coop, so toxicity is not a problem.

Whether it is safe for chickens to actually eat is a hot topic!Caffeineis a member ofmethylxanthinefamily, and methylxanthines are potentialpoisonousfor pets in certain amounts, but research is limited to chickens.

It's easy to find different opinions from bloggers online; several of which say soCaffeine can be toxic to chickens. Hobby Farms states that coffee grounds should not be fed to chickens, but that coffee grounds are acceptable bedding. Remember, chickens aredoesn't mammaland mammals are the domestic animals on which most toxicity data are based...

If a chicken or pet ingests caffeine, it only takes about 30 minutes to an hour for signs of clinical toxicity to appear. In addition to affecting the calcium absorption rate, it can also interfere with their central nervous, respiratory and circulatory systems; and in rare cases it can even lead to death!

A search of scientific publications found "no scientific articles on feeding coffee to poultry, and therefore further studies using coffee residues are recommended as it is a cheap by-product and has economic potential." The unstated conclusion here would be that coffee is not toxic to chickens if consumed continuously in moderate amounts over a period of five to six months.

Drying coffee grounds

Before using coffee grounds in your chicken coop, drying is very important because coffee grounds can become moldy. At first we didn't stir our dry coffee often enough and discovered moldy lumps. It went straight to the (green) compost! We dry our personal coffee grounds on a tray in the kitchen. We spread the larger bags of used coffee grinders that we get at our local coffee shop in a thin layer on a large baking sheet and throw them in the oven for an hour or two on the lowest setting.

WHERE CAN IT BE PURCHASED?

Unfortunately, it has been temporarily discontinued until the manufacturer can catch up on outstanding backorders (late summer). The company “Grounds Powered By Coffee” gets all their coffee grounds from a company calledJavaHouse. The owner of Grounds says JavaHouse doesn't make enough coffee to meet the demands of the coffee-stained bedding. In an effort to help, they are offering coupons for JavaHouse products in the hopes that this will help with the high demand for bedding...

This isOffer codethe owner gives everyone:
Use discount codeGROUND 10Unpleasant10% rabatVANfirst purchase.