Best bedding for a chicken coop?

[chickenkeeperUS]

Currently we are using straw as the bedding for our chicken coop. We live in Washington where its always raining so the weather is always wet and cold (snows once a year if we're lucky). I was wondering if there is something better out there we can use for our chicken coop because straw smells after awhile and I was hoping maybe we can find something more useful we could use instead. If you have any ideas or what works best for you please let me know! Keep our weather in mind as its always wet and raining 90% the year.

 

[Alaskan]

Everyone is going to have their favorite.

But personally I think straw and hay are awful and just turn into poo sheets.

I like wood chips/wood shavings that I can get for very low cost prebagged, or free if I bag, at almost any sawmill or woodworker in town.

PDZ or sand works well in poop trays where it doesn't see a crazy amount of tracked in mud.

 

[Big on Red]

Currently we are using straw as the bedding for our chicken coop. We live in Washington where its always raining so the weather is always wet and cold (snows once a year if we're lucky). I was wondering if there is something better out there we can use for our chicken coop because straw smells after awhile and I was hoping maybe we can find something more useful we could use instead. If you have any ideas or what works best for you please let me know! Keep our weather in mind as its always wet and raining 90% the year.

I agree wood chips is the only way to go I have tried straw don't like the straw when it's wet it smells bad and it doesn't seem to hold the poop like wood chips. So there you go my opinion wood-chips

 

[rosemarythyme]

Some form of deep litter - combine wood chips, shavings, dried leaves, grass, garden clippings, basically whatever organic materials you can scrounge up. It allows rain to drain through and keeps the smell down as the poop mixes in and composts along with the other materials. The resulting compost can be used in your garden.

 

[LittleMissCountry]

We put sand in the coop only, because we get quite a bit of rain, although not as much as you.
Do you have access to dead leaves? That works well for us. I throw in some dried dead leaves about once a week. I collect them on dry days. The chickens love digging through them and scratching for bugs. I throw in other stuff as well, like grass clippings, pine needles, etc.