hay, straw or pine shavings???

[BlackBart]

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[shelleyd2008]

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Yeah, it does seem that they kick the shavings out pretty badly. They do scratch in the straw/hay, but it stays put.

 

[faykokoWV]

over the summer, I have been gathering the grass clippings after we mow and putting that in the nesting box. Since we're mowing every week they get fresh bedding weekly and its free. They seem to like it too.

 

[RL]

The old farmers would use dried Tobacco leaves it helped keep the nest box free of parasites as nicotine is an insecticide. If I could get tobacco leaves for cheap that is what I would use, but long cut hay or shavings work.

 

[CaliBlueChicken]

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We are using shredded paper too for now, our chickies are only 7 weeks old. We put it all over in the coop, our nesting boxes aren't finished yet. They like to sleep in the paper. And the good thing is it is recycled from my Dad's business. Thanks for sharing.

 

[CaliBlueChicken]

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Hello,
I had a newbie question. What is DE? And also what grit do you use? I have cockatiels and I have Hartz gravel n' grit for them, is there a special chicken type, would they have it at the feed store? Thanks

 

[WisconsinGardenChick]

According to this article (http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Beginners.html) hay is a bad idea. The goal is to keep the carbon (litter) to nitrogen (manure) ratio high. Here is a quote:

As in a compost heap, the decompositional microbes use the nitrogen in the droppings as energy (food) source as they break down the litter into simpler elements. As the carbon in the litter is used up, the nitrogen can no longer be utilized efficiently by the microbes and begins outgassing to the atmosphere as ammonia, a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen. Breathing ammonia is bad for your birds’ delicate respiratory tissues, so that first whiff of ammonia is your signal to clean out the litter, or add fresh high-carbon material.

Therefore, the author advises against hay. Straw is better; I think pine shavings are best.

Wisconsin Garden Chick
http://backyardnestegg.blogspot.com/

Edited to say: Duh! I thought you were talking about bedding generally. For nest boxes, I'd say straw, never hay. Otherwise, pine shavings.​

 

[fiberart57]

I got this bag of sweet pasture grass (dried) from the tractor store to use. Okay, it was pricey but it smells really good. I sprinkled DE on it and so far the girls are not interested in eating it. They go out and eat grass and greens every day. Of course they're only 15 weeks old, have barely any combs and aren't really thinking about laying yet. But, they don't sleep in the nest box, thankfully they like their roost.

Mary

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Hello,
I had a newbie question. What is DE? And also what grit do you use? I have cockatiels and I have Hartz gravel n' grit for them, is there a special chicken type, would they have it at the feed store? Thanks

DE is Diatomaceous Earth. I have the starter sized grit for my birds, since mostly the ones that need it are the caged quail. But your feed store should have it, in starter and adult size.

 

[harv681]

I find the pine shavings keep the coop smelling "pine fresh" between cleanings.