A Question for you all....

[Lanissa86]

Ok, my birds have proven to not be the smartest..lol. I used Pine shaving when they were young to brood them in. Well I put the last bit in my make shift nest box and my older girl liked it but the young ones I noticed would eat some here and there and make a mess with it! Now the nest box is empty and I don't know what I should put in it. I am scared to put straw because of all the crop impactions I have seen on here and I know my birds will eat it. And if I put more Pine shavings they will just continue to eat that as well... What do you all use? What have you found works best for your birds?

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i wouldn't think they would eat straw, it's pretty stiff. i've actually never been fond of pine shavings. i found my younger chickens eating it and that worried me. Although many people on here have said they will eventually stop eating it, my kids didn't. (They weren't very smart either.)

i used straw for a long time, until i saw a friend using hay. The hay is softer and easier for me to handle and for them to nest in. i buy the Orchard Hay at the feed store, and they give me grief that i'm spending too much on that when i should be using straw. Oh well. i don't get splinters and my chickens are happy. Plus, it's so soft it doesn't cause a problem when they do eat it. You may want to experiment by getting a couple flakes of different kinds of straw and hay at the feed store, and see what works best for you.

Good luck!

 

[antlers]

Dried lawn grass works well too. They eat some but thats fine.

 

[Lanissa86]

I tried the dry lawn grass, they all tried jumping in the small milk crate and Ate the whole lot of it! lol. I guess I will try the straw.... Hope the don't go crazy trying to eat it... Anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[Chick_a_dee]

How about the wood pellets you use in horse stalls, put them in, add a bit of water, wait for them to expand and create a "sawdust," type bedding... the bits are really small, so they may not eat it, it's really soft, and really cheap.

 

[Lanissa86]

Thanks! Never heard of that before!

 

[speckledhen]

Quote:
Add water? Then do you dry them? You definitely do not want anything wet in the coop. I've never heard of this. I use a base of straw in the nests, sprinkle with DE, then use some nice soft pine shavings on top of that. Makes a soft nest to sit in for the hens.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
Add water? Then do you dry them? You definitely do not want anything wet in the coop. I've never heard of this. I use a base of straw in the nests, sprinkle with DE, then use some nice soft pine shavings on top of that. Makes a soft nest to sit in for the hens.

You don't dry them, you only spray them with a mister... just enough to get them to expand, i usually add some stable boy or something to my pellets when I do them in horse stalls.

 

[jnjross]

how bout pine straw, i use hay