Are your girls picky about nesting material?

[RollinWithTheStones]

Usually I use hay, but I had some shavings left over and thought I'd put some in their nesting boxes. First day they laid outside their boxes (in a milk crate with nothing in it) so I put their eggs in the nesting box they use the most and put my most frequent layer in the box with the eggs. 2nd day they nested on the floor of their coop instead, so I switched out the eggs and put them back in the box. Today they nested on the floor again.

Do I just give in and go back to hay or stick with it?

 

[Ole rooster]

From day one I use wheat straw and white pine needles. I mixed the two together. White pine needles are so soft you could almost sleep on um. Unlike most I've read about they never kicked anything out. They made their bowl in it, started laying and have continued on since. The BO that started settin crawled in one of the nest and parked herself. In four days she hasn't moved.

 

[ninabeast]

Well, chickens don't like change, but adapt quickly. At least, mine do. I started them out on sand in the summer, so they'd keep cool while laying, then switched them over to shavings in fall, so they'd keep warm. They lay equally well in both.

 

[RollinWithTheStones]

LOL, thanks guys. Maybe I'll mix a bit of left over hay into the boxes and gradually weed it out.

 

[Johnn]

after winter my hens were late on starting laying agian they had straw in there nesting box i cleaned them out and replaced it with hay and the next day i got 3 eggs, so now they refuse to lay on anything exept hay or hay and straw together

 

[RollinWithTheStones]

Well I mixed in some hay with the shavings then put a thin layer on top so hopefully I won't be play hide and seek eggs today.