Any other Canadians on here!!!?!

[Paws4fun]

I am new to the world of chickens! I was wondering what people use for bedding in their coops....I have my girls on straw at the moment (I have only had my girls for a week now) I am finding the straw dirty and hard to clean.....poop everywhere!!!
With the nights still getting really cold around here I don't have much of a choice, but in a few weeks I was thinking about swapping them over to a sand / wood pellet mix. Thoughts?

And how the heck are you suppose to keep straw bedding clean????? I have 8 little ladies and the sure do make a mess!!!

 

[Judy]

Welcome to our forum!

A lot of people find sand easy to clean, even easier when used in combination with sweet PDZ. Lots of folks use pine shavings which are not so easy to clean but do help control odor and moisture til they are changed out. Wood pellets are OK but may be a more expensive option, and you need to check out the type to be sure there aren't harmful chemicals in them. I prefer pine shavings but I have a large coop and it is only raked out once a year, and tilled into the garden. The poop simply dries and sifts down through the pine shavings. The rest of the time, odor and moisture are controlled mostly by the amount of space they have, plus an occasional couple of handfuls of pelletized lime -- which would also be helpful on hay or straw, I would think. You will find lots of methods described in our Coop forum.

Check out our Canadian thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/144/canadians-check-in-here/3030

 

[Paws4fun]

Thank you Judy!!!!