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[JoeFarmer24]

What is the best bedding to use on the coop floor Sand or Pine shavings??? I live in the Northeast

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

I would say Pine Shavings

 

[ForFlocksSake]

I was using pine shavings for a while but we use the droppings for our garden and it was just so much pine every time I cleaned it out. now I don't use any bedding. Granted it's a small coop with plastic trays below the roosting bars, and I scrape those off daily so there's no buildup. I definitely prefer it without bedding.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I prefer pine shavings. Yes there can be a lot of shavings if you're trying to compost it for garden use. It's absorbent while sand is not.

Many people use poop boards below the roost in order to extend the usability of the shavings below while collecting the droppings for the compost without copious amounts of bedding mixed in.

A lot depends on the type of coop one has.

 

[aart]

I would not recommend sand in the north eastern US.

What kind of bedding you use may depend on how you manage the manure.
This is about cleaning, but covers my big picture

-I use poop boards under roosts with thin(<1/2") layer of sand/PDZ mix, sifted daily(takes 5-10mins) into bucket going to friends compost.
-Scrape big or wet poops off roost and ramps as needed.
- Large flake pine shavings on coop floor, add some occasionally, totally changed out once or twice a year, old shavings added to run.
- My runs have semi-deep litter(cold composting), never clean anything out, just add smaller dry materials on occasion, add larger wood chippings as needed.
Aged ramial wood chippings are best IMO.
-Nests are bedded with straw, add some occasionally, change out if needed(broken egg).

There is no odor, unless a fresh cecal has been dropped and when I open the bucket to add more poop.
That's how I keep it 'clean', have not found any reason to clean 'deeper' in 10 years.

 

[kengboss21]

In the NE as well, use pine shavings. It holds an unbelievable amount of chicken poop without smelling bad.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I prefer pine shavings. Yes there can be a lot of shavings if you're trying to compost it for garden use. It's absorbent while sand is not.

Many people use poop boards below the roost in order to extend the usability of the shavings below while collecting the droppings for the compost without copious amounts of bedding mixed in.

A lot depends on the type of coop one has.

Nice avatar, 21hens!

 

[Wendy Bee]

Central NYS here . . . Wood chips! We get ours for FREE - all we could dream of to use, lol. I do usually tip the delivery guys with homemade Maple Syrup and eggs .

A local tree service brings them for FREE (did I mention they're free, lol?), and we use them in the run and on pathways and around the outside of the house (has cut down on mud season CONSIDERABLY). Our guys even let us request that we not get cedar (not good for chickens), so they just make sure that the job they're hauling from is cedar-free. It's best to let a pile cure for 6-ish months before use, but if you have a new pile and they're dry, you can mix them in with dry pine shavings to get started.

You can use all pine shavings to get started, actually, but they will be more dusty than chips, but don't let the dust turn you off of deep litter - chips are so superior to shavings - I love them!

Last Fall we also put bunches of Maple leaves in the run - the smell was glorious! This year was far too wet to use leaves, though, so disappointing. Dry leaves are really nice - they give the chickens lots to do and they break down very well, basically into dirt.

If you can still get a chip load delivered this Fall, and cover loosely so they have some ventilation, you should be able to start using them late Spring.

I highly recommend the Deep Litter method. It's soooo easy to maintain. No stink if done properly, and very healthy for your chickens. If you're in the Northeast, it's also a way to help keep your chickens warmer in the winter. Deep litter does this two ways: There's a thick layer of chips between the cold ground and your chickens' feet, and the composting that's going on in the thick layer of chips and manure is producing a bit of heat. All kinds of good microbes happening there, too.

If you get a lot of snow, deep litter chips also help to keep your chickens busy in the run when they're stuck inside. Over time, chips break down into basically dirt, so dust bathing is easy without providing a space for that. Also, most nights I'll pitch fork chips into piles around the run and put large spoonfulls of feed (crumble) all around the run. The next day the chickens have lots to occupy themselves with - scratching and pecking to their hearts' delight. Which means they're not picking at each other because they're bored .

This is our third winter using this method. We have deep litter wood chips in the covered run and deep bedding industrial hemp in the coop. So happy with the results.

I recently came across this video . . . it gives a really comprehensive overview of the benefits of doing deep litter, as well as lots of tips and things to avoid.

 

[Penpal]

I use straw. As Wendy Bee stated, the composting of straw with manure creates heat as it is decomposing. It is also quite cheap. You can just leave it in the tied cube if you only put it under the roost.