Chopped Straw vs Wood Shavings

[EggresiveAli]

Hi guys,

I have a flock of four hens who live in a run with a roof. I currently use chopped straw in the run/enclosure and wood shavings in the nestboxes. Should I be using these vice versa?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I do the reverse. I use pine shavings for coop litter. It dries out the feces and the whole lot composts well. Hardwood shavings shouldn't be used because of possible fungus if it gets wet at all. Actually the same is true of straw.

In the nest I've used anything from straw, dried grass, shavings, dried leaves but my favorite is excelsior mats.

 

[Domd28]

In the run, I don't use anything except for the natural ground. In the coop and nest box we use straw it can better absorb the waste. For us the cost is about the same. We have used chips, but since we switched to straw 2 bails last about 2 months in comparison to a bag of chips lasting about 2-3 cleanings. We clean the coop every week to week and a half. Hope this helps.

 

[chfite]

If these keep the areas clean and dry as you would like them to do, then either way will work. I use shavings in the coop and nests, cleaning out the deep litter about once a year. I use sand in the run.

Chris