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Hemp Bedding For Chickens

While some folks are still using wood chips and other legacy bedding materials for their chicken coops, nesting boxes, and brooders, many people have discovered the incredible benefits of hemp bedding and are making the switch.

We know you love your chickens, so Dominion Hemp has created a bedding that helps keep them healthy, clean, and comfy. Learn more about the benefits below!

Hemp Bedding for Chickens Illustration

The Benefits of Hemp Bedding for Your Chickens

The primary benefits of using hemp for your chicken bedding are reduced odors,  high absorption, extremely low dust content, high thermal rating, and being very biodegradable and sustainable.

Other benefits include hemp’s remarkable antibacterial, insecticide, and insulation properties. Plus, it’s a soft landing for your eggs!

Hemp Bedding Absorbs Ammonia Odors Icon

Hemp Reduces Odor and Ammonia Levels 

We are all familiar with the unpleasant ammonia smell often present in some chicken coops. High ammonia levels aren’t just a nuisance; levels above 25 ppm will adversely affect the immune system of your birds. 

Chickens may also experience inflammation of their respiratory system due to high ammonia. If you notice your birds are losing weight and have teary eyes, ammonia could be the culprit. 

Because hemp bedding is a lightweight, porous material that is highly absorbent, it also helps to lower the levels of ammonia in the coop. Chicken owners using Dominion Hemp bedding have reported a marked reduction in the smell of ammonia in and around their chicken facilities, making hemp a healthier choice for your chicks.

Hemp Bedding Aborbs 4 Times Weight Icon

Hemp Absorbs 4x Weight, So Your Birds Stay Dry

Wetness in chicken coops can be common and is caused by waste and water spillage. Many bedding materials, such as wood shavings and straw, become saturated and damp. 

This creates a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, mites, and other disease-causing organisms. This dampness can also affect the respiratory health of chickens and even your birds' feet.

The absorption content of hemp is 400% compared to 250% and 125% of wood and straw.  Hemp soaks up moisture like a sponge, making it an ideal bedding for chickens. Hemp has a clumping aspect, so your birds stay clean and dry — and their coops are drier, too. 

Hemp Bedding 99 Dust Free Icon

Our Hemp is 99% Dust-Free, Which Means Healthier Chickens

Chickens have a very delicate respiratory system. Dust is a trigger to many respiratory illnesses. Many other bedding substrates like straw, sawdust, and sand contain high amounts of particulate matter that get into your birds' airways and lungs and cause them trouble.

Dust also creates a thriving ground for mites that can be a nuisance to poultry animals.

Dominion Hemp takes your animals' health seriously and removes 99% of the dust before packaging, making for a healthier alternative for your flock. 

Hemp Bedding and High Coverage and is Cost Effective Icon

Hemp Bedding Has High Coverage and is Cost-Effective

Dominion Hemp hemp bedding expands to 121 square feet, for maximum effective coverage.

Depending on your litter method, one bag of Dominion Hemp hemp will cover twelve nesting boxes and an 8x6 run.

Multiple bags of pine would be needed for the same coverage. Due to hemp's high absorbency and clumping aspect, you will only remove the soiled material, reducing your labor and lasting much longer than other products, which saves you money. 

Hemp Bedding a Soft Landing for Eggs Icon

A Soft Landing Saves Your Eggs

A soft landing is critical for egg-laying chickens to prevent cracked eggs and lost omelets. Yet standard beddings like wood shavings and even sand are often too hard on impact.  Eggs laid or dropped onto these stiff surfaces easily fracture.

Luckily, the pillowy loft of hemp hurd absorbs shock and protects eggs from cracks and breaks when laid or dropped. It might seem like common sense, but Dominion Hemp customers confirm that hemp bedding reduces breakage versus their old bedding. 

Switching to our soft, shock-absorbent bedding gives you one less thing to think about around the henhouse. 

A High Thermal Rating will Keep Your Chicks Comfy and Cozy

Chickens like it to stay warm, with 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit being the ideal temperature range for their comfort and egg production.

With its low bulk density and high water absorption, hemp bedding contributes to thermoregulation and is an excellent insulator. This helps keep chickens warmer during the winter months​​.  Hemp bedding can also contribute to laying eggs longer and more often by maintaining a more consistent temperature within the coop.

Icon - Dominion Hemp bedding is biodegradable and sustainable, which makes it great for easily composting your chicken waste

Hemp is Biodegradable and Can Be Composted

Chicken manure is very fertile and recommended for gardening. Still, too many bedding materials either don't break down fast enough or do not provide a healthy addition to your compost mix. 

Hemp bedding degrades relatively quickly and incorporates the chicken waste to form a balanced, nutrient-rich compost

Hemp is one of the most sustainable plants, with a short, 125-day growing season, allowing hemp farmers to produce two to three times more material than trees per acre. Our hemp is farmed, processed, and packed in the United States, directly supporting U.S. farmers.

Hemp Bedding Has Natural Antibacterial Properties Icon

Hemp Has Antibacterial Properties

Hemp contains more than 500 compounds and complex macro-composition, giving it significant antibacterial properties. Dominion Hemp bedding is made from the fiber hemp crop and does not contain THC. Still, the remaining cannabinoids have been shown to inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella in laboratory experiments. 

The hemp plant is being actively studied as a possible solution to antibiotic-resistant infections such as MRSA.

Hemp Bedding is a Natural Insect Repellent Icon

Hemp is a Natural Insect-Repellent

Parasitic mites and ticks can be a problem for your flock by reducing their production and spreading disease. Studies show up to 90% of caged hen houses have red poultry mites carrying pathogens. Ticks also can plague chickens, causing discomfort, sickness, lower productivity, and death.

However, lab tests of two compounds found in industrial hemp, caryophyllene and humulene, are shown to prevent and kill mites at low doses, demonstrating the natural insecticidal properties of hemp. Hemp even displayed promising effects against tick larvae and eggs. 

Using Dominion Hemp hemp bedding can help create a healthier flock and prevent the spread of dangerous diseases among your birds.

Compare OUR Bedding to Other Chicken Bedding Materials

Dominion Hemp outperforms all other types of bedding, making it an easy choice for any size coop or hen house.

Hemp Bedding Comparison Chicken Icon
Reduces Odors
Compostable
Soft On Eggs
High Thermal Rating
Dust Content
Absorbency
Coverage
Maintenance
Straw Shavings Sawdust Wood
Chips
Sand
HIGH
LOW LOW LOW MEDIUM LOW
HIGH
MEDIUM LOW MEDIUM LOW LOW
HIGH
MEDIUM MEDIUM MEDIUM LOW LOW
HIGH
LOW LOW LOW LOW LOW
LOW
MEDIUM HIGH HIGH MEDIUM MEDIUM
HIGH
LOW MEDIUM MEDIUM MEDIUM HIGH
HIGH
LOW MEDIUM MEDIUM MEDIUM LOW
LOW
HIGH HIGH MEDIUM MEDIUM LOW

But Why Is Hemp The Better Bedding Choice?

Hemp vs. Straw

Straw bedding comes from grains such as wheat, rye, and oat. Straw products can be pretty dusty, which isn't recommended for chickens. Besides, straw harvested during the rainy season can be susceptible to mold, affecting the chicken's respiratory system.

Hemp, unlike straw, doesn’t accumulate moisture during harvest, which keeps mold at bay. Our chicken bedding is also very low in dust, making it safe for you and your chickens. 

Hemp vs. Wood Shavings & Chips

One major problem with wood products such as pine, cedar, and aspen is they do not absorb moisture as well as hemp. Saturation must occur before absorption, which can lead to foot and mold issues.

Wood chips also don't decompose quickly, making them difficult to dispose of and prolonging any addition to your composting pile.

Hemp, on the other hand, absorbs moisture, keeping the surface of the chicken house dry. It's also highly biodegradable, making it easy to compost.

Hemp vs. Sand

Some owners use sand in hen houses as an alternative to other bedding types. 

But consider these essential points: Sand becomes hot in the summer months and freezes in winter. The lack of proper insulation in sand bedding can also easily make your chickens sick, as some strains of bacteria can thrive in extreme temperatures. Hemp is the perfect insulator, which helps maintain a consistent temperature. 

Sand lacks any natural anti-bacterial or pesticidal properties. This means you'll have to find other ways to control bacteria and bugs. Hemp has these properties. 

Sand cannot be composted. Hemp breaks down quickly and transforms chicken waste into a nutrient-rich fertilizer.

How To Use Dominion Hemp Bedding In Your Chicken Coop

Whether you have laying hens, broilers, a commercial chicken factory, or 3 or 4 backyard chickens, you know you will have one less thing to worry about when you choose hemp as a form of bedding and the application is easy.

Example Recommendation For an 8x6 Unit Chicken Coop

An 8×6 coop is a standard size for many chicken owners and variations will exist, due to your depth preference and the frequency of your cleaning routines.

Here is a breakdown on different bedding systems: 

Deep Bedding System

Running Bedding System

Where Can I Buy Dominion Hemp Bedding?

You can buy our premium hemp chicken bedding directly from us, on Amazon, on Chewy, and at a retailer near you.

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