Ok straw or shavings?

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Have you considered sand??? There are a lot of folks here at BYC that feel very strongly that sand is the best choice. I really like it, cleanup is a snap and I don't have to keep buying new bedding all the time. I have 2"-3" in the coop and 3"-4" in the run. My girl friend uses shavings and I have a lot less mess on my shoes and in the coop/run than she does.
 
Thank you for posting this question. I also have been considering which to use. The gal at the local Murdoch's recommended switching to straw when my chicks got older but using pine shavings while they were little. I am almost out of the shavings and they've lasted me quite a while but when I went in to ask for straw, they said they were out. I like using the shavings. When I clean out my coop, I used to put them directly in my composter but found that while I am growing a brand new yard of grass just outside my coop, I could just shovel the shavings and toss them out into the yard and it protected my little grass seeds wonderfully.
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I am getting ready to clean out the coop this week and don't have enough shavings to do a decent cover. So, I was wondering the same thing.
Thanks all for the input.
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Pine shavings is the way to go, IMO. I tried straw for 2 days, it just stunk!! At least with the pine you get a nice scent!
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I have a related question so I hope it is OK to piggy back it on here. I still have grass in the run but I am planning on using pine shavings. The grass will be gone before too long I am sure. Should I put the shavings on top of the grass now or wait for the girls to demolish it? The ground is getting pretty mucky but they still seem pretty happy to pick through what is left of the grass.
 
I use pine shavings/deep litter method but......in the winter we unroll a large round bale of hay all over the run (50ft) and it keeps the poultry up off the frozen ground, gives them seeds to pick at, keeps me from being in the mud, gives them bugs to pic at and in the very early spring they have fresh greens beneath the hay. We do this every winter and by mid summer the hay has decomposed. If I ever get rid of my chickens that run is going to be an awesome garden spot
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I agree with straw in the nesting boxes
 
Newbie here....I use a combination of pine shavings as many have suggested along with shredded cardboard.

When I first received my chicks, I was also using shredded paper...whoops! They decided to eat some of the paper so I stopped doing that.

I shred the cardboard using a standard paper shredder that also cross cuts so the pieces are smaller. I have experimented with all kinds of cardboard and it seems the corrugated stuff is the best...the stuff for shipping boxes. I will also use thicker cardboard like from a FedEx/UPS package or anything else that seems "thicker" that they won't try and eat. They tended to try and eat the "white" cardboard/paper, if anything. After a week or so, they didn't bother. I think they figured out that food was better. HA!

Anyway, I thought it was a good way to go as it uses a recyclable item (cardboard), gets composted, then gets used in the garden. While it takes time to actually shred the cardboard, it could save you some money, depending on how much you value the time you spend shredding. I don't mind...better than watching TV.

One of my chicks just layed their first egg so I have "opened-up" the nesting boxes. When they were younger they could go in an poop in the nesting boxes. I closed it off as I didn't want them to get used to using the boxes for anything but nesting. Anyway, I layered some shredded cardboard only in the nesting boxes...I'll have to wait and see how that works, otherwise I was going to try using straw in the nesting boxes.

I hope this helps offer another suggestion.
 
I use pine bark in a deep litter method in the coop and the run is just left natural. They scratch and eat some of the grass, but is rejuvenates quicker than they can eat it.
 

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