Bedding preference Straw, wood shavings or other

[dirtsaver]

Another vote for shavings in the coop year round. Straw just does not seem to be as absorbent as shavings or smell as clean. Our hens seem to like the shavings in the nest boxes too.

 

[chickentooth]

Must be just me, I love the fresh smellof the straw and i don't like the pine smell. THe pine is definately easier to clean up though.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

I like the straw smell too. And it looks comfy when it is all fluffy

 

[Horse Chick]

I use pine shavings in the coop and nesting boxes. It is very easy to toss daily and sift through so you don't have to completely clean every week and it will still smell nice. I am thinking of getting some hay just for them to play with outside. The run is course sand. If you go with sand make sure it is course and not the fine play sand they use in children's sandboxes. The fine sand becomes a concrete-like substance when it gets wet, it's awful. I still have bags of it because I was buying that before finding the courser stuff that just works so much better. Very easy to rake through and the girls love to take dirt baths in it.

 

[fisherlady]

We use a mix of sand and chain saw 'dust' which is actually small wood chips. Our floor is linoleum over wood, so we put in a couple of inches of sand and then I added enough wood chippings to keep the sand loose. I used the rake to stir it all together and then put in a couple flakes of straw. (leave it as solid flakes, the chickens will have fun rearranging it!) When it is miserable and snowy or wet outside the chickens can scratch around in it or dust bathe in it. In one corner I also added a few shovel fulls of wood ash and the girls use this for their spa area.

The chainsaw chips we collect when cutting up our wood for winter. We do most of the cutting in one area and I put an old tarp on the ground. One days sawing can make enough chips/sawdust to fill a 40 gallon tote, which is then stashed out of the way till needed in the coop. Through the winter I pitchfork out the hay when it gets too soiled and the soiled sand clumps and is easily sifted through a box sifter we made. It takes just over an hour to do a complete coop cleaning (a 8x12 area)

 

[keenecowboy]

Use shaving, pine, ash and what is available. No PT. I have a good relationship with the local lumber yard and mill shop. I get them free for just cleaning out the hopper.
They are glad to get rid of them, otherwise they have to pay to get them hauled away . A bottle of wine to the shop manager keeps him calling to empty the bins.
No one said anything about different kinds of wood and any effect.

 

[Poultriary]

I used to drive by a mill (looked like they mostly mill Douglas Fir) and get the saw dust, but it's out of the way now and I rarely manage to get over there. Before, since I drove past 10 times a week, it was as free as it gets.

Now I usually end up buying the pine shavings, although that mill is probably only a couple miles out of my way. Regardless of whether I'm using saw dust or shavings, I will thinly scatter a small amount of straw over the bedding because it seems to help keep it in place, almost like throwing a net over it. In the summer here in NW Oregon (which is dry) I also lay down emptied kraft-paper feed bags under the shavings, That way, when it's time for a change over, I can just fold over the bags and toss the whole thing in the compost pile or in the garden. Unfortunately, during our wet, humid fall, winter and spring, the kraft paper ends up too wet to hold together.

 

[Meg09]

I just use pine shavings at least I did when I had chickens geese and turkeys. I really like the idea of sand, jak200- you said you have a mesh floor? That sounds interesting, do you have any oics of your coop you could post