Review #2
Reviewer: Gemma Bavington
September/Oct 2017
Product: Tropibed (2 x 40 Litre bags)
Manufacturer: Natrazorb
Product reviewed over:
1 week 2 weeks 3 weeks 1 month 2 months 3 months
Your first thoughts of the product:
The bags are light and easy to move about. The bedding looks like compost in a bag and on looking I am uncertain that there will be enough here to cover the flooring of my 8ft x 6ft shed.
Features at a glance:
The labelling and brochures enclosed advise that tropibed is naturally free from harmful bacteria and moulds, highly absorbent and lasts longer than other bedding.
The Trial
How many chickens are in your set up?
7 Large Fowl
7 Bantams
Product Pros and Cons
On opening the bags, I noticed that the bedding seems a little damp. There is no smell to the bedding and was easy to spread onto the floor of my shed. My worries that the 2 x 40 litre bags won’t be enough to cover the floor were soon settled as two bags have allowed me to make a good bed of about 1.5 inches (3.5cm) deep. I left it down for a few hours and then checked again and it has dried out and still looks just as good on the floor.
After 1 day of use: I went to poo pick and noticed the lack of chicken poo smell [bonus] but also the lack of poo on the floor [a miracle]. The chickens have had a little kick about and I was dreading having to locate the poo and clean out, however, I was thoroughly surprised when I gently ran my hand [rubber gloved may I add] through the bedding and easily found the poop. It was easy to pick up and sieve through, all droppings were encased in a layer of the bedding keeping it together and making it easy to pick up with no mess. Bed looks fresh as new again, took just a few minutes to do and there was next to no waste in the trug (would normally be about an inch of poo and bedding with a morning poo pick on other bedding)
1 week in: The bedding has been easy to keep clean with daily poo picks. I have found sifting through for the poop each day boring but quick work. I would recommend to invest in a garden sieve (for shed size coop) or a cat poop scoop with smallish holes in (for smaller coops) to help sift through the bedding for the poo which makes it a lot quicker and a less painless procedure. I have noticed that after the first couple of days after being put down and the bedding has dried out that it is a bit dusty and does get up your nose a bit when sifting through for the poo. I have not yet had to put down any more bedding as no top up needed and only 1.5 inches of poop and bedding in the bottom of my trug after 1 week. This would normal be half full by now easily and looking to do a full clean at this point on other bedding I have used in the past. Thumbs up so far.
Week 2: The bedding is still doing its job, still easy to clean and I haven’t needed to top up with new bedding yet.
Week 3: New experiment – leaving for 4 days between poo picks to see if the bed works for those who clean out twice a week as opposed to every day…Great news! It works just as great. We had heavy rain on one of the days and the shed leaked a little making a sodden patch of bedding in one corner. I sieved through taking poo out and mixed with the dry bedding and within 24 hours you wouldn’t have known.
Week 4: I am still on the original 2 x 40 litre bags. I have not yet had to top up or replace bedding but I feel that I may need to pop a new bag in soon. I don’t feel the need to clean all out and put fresh in yet either as it is still pretty much clean.
Week 2
Week 4
Although nesting from nest box mixed in a little where little feed decided to dig them out all over the floor
Conclusion
Tropibed is certainly a bedding that is easy to use and easy to keep clean (even when the birds have kicked their poo everywhere). I love using it and find it very absorbent and pleasant to look at.
After 4 weeks of use it still smells good and due to not needing to keep replacing or topping up (as there is little wastage of bedding when cleaning out) this is working out to be good for my money too.
I am going to continue using this product and although I do recommend to others, I would take into consideration that if you need a dust free bedding then this may not be the best product for you but if using in a coop as oppose to a shed this will most likely not be a problem for you. Alternatively, you could invest in a mask so that you can still use this very good bedding.
How would you rate this product: 1-5 star rating (1-poor, 2-below average, 3-average, 4-above average, 5-brilliant).
I would rate this product a 5
Please note: the difference in colour of bedding in each photo is due to the differences in natural light available (sunny/raining/cloudy etc)
Added extra
It has been at least 3 weeks after the original review and I would like to add that I have continued to use this product. I have been cleaning the shed out every 2-3 days and I have yet needed to add more bedding to original 2 bags put down. The bedding is still clean and fresh smelling so I have had no need to clear it out and put fresh down yet either. Great bedding!!
