Dumb question: did i get too much straw?

[justchookin]

My girls keep sending me back to the store for more hay. They love it! Had it in coop only and they spent most of their time there so got them one for the run as well and they love fossicking in it. Great to watch the hay fly. They reckon there's never too much

 

[wyododge]

My mother used straw in her coop and run for years. The chickens spread it around in the run and in the coop. Mold is everywhere, there is no way to get rid of it. You don't want a coop full of mold, but there is already mold in the straw (and bagged wood chips too) it just has not colonized. But the spores, which is what is bad, is already in it. Put your straw in the run and see how it does. If you don't like it, rake it up. With the help of the chickens it will compost very quickly. If your bale is still somewhat intact, a black leaf bag goes right over it. Tie it off and hang it on the wall. If you need some it is right there waiting.

However, the price of straw and wood shavings are about equal now, so after you have finished the bale of straw, give wood shavings a try. If you prefer the straw, no real harm. We use shavings on the floor and straw in the nest boxes. And we even bail our own straw.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Neither wood shavings nor straw are perfect. To me, they are pretty much interchangeable. In fact, sometimes the floor has a mixture of the two. I use whichever saves a $1 a bale, at the time. Both work about equally well.
Caveat: When I say "straw", I mean clean yellow, wheat straw, not hay, which is dried grasses.

I'm not sure either is much of a fix for a wet, muddy run. Either would be mess. I'd be much more inclined toward sand for that application, I think.

 

[smokinjay]

I started with 25 bales....One for the run its pretty deep. 24 for wind blocks!

 

[chicmom]

I prefer wood shavings to straw, because I think it makes the coop smell a certain way....Um maybe moldy or unfresh? (And my coop is dry.) It might just be my nose, or hayfever or whatever, but I think it's stinky.

I like the smell of the pine shavings much better, and they're easy to clean up. Sometimes in the winter (my run has roof), I put tarps around the run to block the harsh winds. Anyhow, I will put some straw in the outdoor run just to give the hens something different to scratch around in. If I put a bale in there, I let then scratch at it, and after a while, they have it all kicked around......It's just something to keep them from being bored.

I would definitely store the straw in a dry place, so you don't have to worry about mildew or mold......That can cause respiratory illnesses with chickens.

Hope this helps,
Sharon

 

[egglicious]

Thank you all for the posts. When the chickens woke up this morning, they were totally afraid of the straw! They have been through a lot lately... after the initial fear they finally started scratching around in it and they LOVE it. They didn't even want to freerange, just wanted to scratch around in that straw. They also love to snuggle up in it. As for the rest, I bagged it up for later use. It was a lot less intimidating this morning in the light of day, lol.

I thought about sand but decided against it as I have had some problem with feather picking and have read that it occurs more in sand environments than shavings or straw. I guess sand isn't as good an environment for bugs and worms and such, which my chickens need to occupy their time. I also thought about shavings but then visited a friend who is using straw and saw how well it soaked up the moisture. So, that is why I finally decided on straw. We will see how it goes! For now, i'm glad to have happy chickens.