Deep litter method

[momofthehouse]

Don't put straw?

 

[Lacy Blues]

I put straw or leaves or whatever in first and then I'll add a few handfuls of shavings on top and just kind of stick my fingers through all of it and wiggle my hand a bit to mix them in. Not much, just a small movement. The fronts of your nests should have a guard on it too, a board up to 6 inches wide, run across the front of the nest to keep the materials in.

 

[bluefrog87]

I like to have a mix of litter for my deep litter but straw can get moldy and create a health risk to birds. Unless expertly maintained. Straw is most economical here tho ($6 organic straw vs $60 pine shavings for 1 month) so I go with regular method when more practical. Plus it rains a lot during some times of the year making the sand useless because it's soaked and doesn't dry when raining.


If I used the deep litter method

First layer is sand 1-2 in

Second layer pine shavings 4-5 in

Measurements dependent on user and area. Final total should be roughly 6 ins

The sand drains well and the pine is absorbent and easy to change

This also helps cut cost for me

 

[armorfirelady]

My birds keep kicking out all the straw I their nesting boxes. I put some pine shavings down first, then I put in handfuls of straw. They keep kicking it all out. I have put it in every time I go up to check and every time I go up they have kicked out at least half of it. What am I doing wrong?

My girls kick it out or push it all to the front of the nesting box. I don't know why they do it & they do it with anything I put in there. I wouldn't be concerned about it unless your getting broken eggs.

 

[lawatt]

is there a lip on your nesting boxes? i don't see how pine shavings would stay inside without one...

 

[Beekissed]

There should be a deep lip on all nesting boxes, to preserve the bedding, to preserve the eggs and also to give the hen the feeling she is crouched down into a nesting area. They like to hide a little. I know a lot of folks don't use deep lips on nests but they sure do circumvent a lot of issues if you do.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

I've seen people blog about these nest pads they use instead of shavings, straw, leaves, etc.

They basically look like a square cut of fancy astro turf. All plastic so easy to pull out, hose off and let dry in the sun from time to time. And I don't see why you couldn't put a sprinkling of DE under them to make sure mites are not hiding under the pads.

I did use sand in one coop in the nests for a while. And it worked just fine. Seemed kind of cold to me. And you must be sure you can keep it dry. It gets really heavy when wet and next to impossible to dry inside the coop.

 

[niqueie]

My nest boxes have a 4" lip on them. I'll try to post pictures later. They are about 18" off the ground.

 

[bluefrog87]

I've seen people blog about these nest pads they use instead of shavings, straw, leaves, etc.

They basically look like a square cut of fancy astro turf. All plastic so easy to pull out, hose off and let dry in the sun from time to time. And I don't see why you couldn't put a sprinkling of DE under them to make sure mites are not hiding under the pads.

I did use sand in one coop in the nests for a while. And it worked just fine. Seemed kind of cold to me. And you must be sure you can keep it dry. It gets really heavy when wet and next to impossible to dry inside the coop.

The astro turf helps prevent eggs breaking on hard surface and keep eggs somewhat cleaner

I too have this problem with sand and sometimes it's a constant rain... but when it;s not raining 2 weeks straight it's good.

 

[momofthehouse]

Do the chickens mind the astro turf? The green plastic stuff right? Would seem prickly.