Delicious straw?

[Nugget]

I have been having trouble keeping my hens' nest boxes lined with straw. I saw them today eating it (it is straw, not hay). Is this normal behaviour? Should I get rid of the straw and use wood chips so they don't get impacted? Do I need to find them some roughage? Its been a long winter. They haven't had much grit and nothing but their grain or kitchen scraps since the fall.

 

[birdlover]

If they're eating it, they definitely have a chance of getting impacted crops. I've read of that happening on here several times. I used wood chips and had no problems at all. Also, you can sprinkle bird grit on their food if you think they're not getting enough grit. When you say "grain", you mean layer pellets or crumbles, right?

 

[Nugget]

Yeah, they get layer pellets. I've put a dish of stones in there a few times over the winter but they're not getting as much as they'd like for grit.

I thought they were just kicking the straw onto the floor but there's way more missing than can be down there! I guess I'll swap it out for wood chips. Wasn't sure if a little straw was okay since they aren't getting hadly any roughage this winter.

 

[CBee]

Huh. I have the opposite problem. Straw is the only thing they won't eat. Hope someone on here knows how to help. Good luck!