Hay vs Straw

[416bigbore]

Hay is good for me . These Swans will build a huge nest they even pick up sticks , and all kinds of stuff but mainly hay about 4 bales per for nest that cygnet in my avatar is bigger than it's parents but they are tame .

Aw they are so cute !

 

[Isaac 0]

I prefer straw, but use hay often with no problems.

My suggestion is to try different bedding materials, and see what works best for your setup. We all have different coops, live in different environments, and have different amounts of birds. All those factors can determine which kind of bedding will work for you.

 

[Isaac 0]

I use hay in my duck house. The ducks love it, it's their favorite nesting material. Never had any problems with the ducks eating hay. I would not do straw because it is not very absorbent, and will become a wet, soggy mess with ducks.

Of course, the quality of hay is a big factor, but in most cases, straw is better at absorbing moisture than hay.

 

[nchls school]

Faster than what?

I find that both straw and hay get moldy quickly. I keep drinking water out of the barn room where my ducks sleep. I have to completely clean out the room every week.

I used to use wood shavings and they are easier to work with and don't mold as quickly. But I switched because of bumblefoot issues.

...faster than straw. I will take your word for it that they mold at the same rate. I use straw, but only because of availability.

 

[KaleIAm]

...faster than straw. I will take your word for it that they mold at the same rate. I use straw, but only because of availability.

Oh I think I miscommunicated. I'm not sure that straw and hay mold at the same rate, just that they both get moldy faster than wood shavings.

It does make some logical sense that hay would mold first since it contains more moisture already, right? I have used both straw and hay regularly and haven't noticed a difference, but I do take a lot of precautions to keep mold from growing.

 

[RJKnott]

I used hay but switched to straw because the ducks seem to like it more and it handles the moisture better I think. My ducks love splashing the water out of their pools and even with that I find the straw still lasts a bit longer than hay

 

[americanchickens]

I prefer woodchips as they dont give me allergies

 

[DuckinDonutsBensalem]

I like to use fresh wheat straw on the bare ground and I keep a fan blowing on it to move the air. I also fluff it every morning and it seems to work and help keep it from molding.

https://iamcountryside.com/homesteading/straw-vs-hay-whats-the-difference/#:~:text=Bottom line, straw is a,chicken coop and nesting boxes.

I like your idea to fluff it and have a fan on it. I have our ducks on straw. I have rubber horse stall mats at the bottom of the duck coop. I sprinkle our straw with diatomaceous earth and flip it to keep down fleas and stuff.

 

[416bigbore]

I like your idea to fluff it and have a fan on it. I have our ducks on straw. I have rubber horse stall mats at the bottom of the duck coop. I sprinkle our straw with diatomaceous earth and flip it to keep down fleas and stuff.

I actually fluff their straw bedding twice a day. Once in the morning when I let them out for supervised free range and then again in the evening before dark. That also gives me a chance to look for any fresh duck eggs that might have been cover up during the day.

I know a fan isn't a perfect solution for wet soggy straw, but it does seem to help with damp straw so it don't go bad so quickly with the added moisture from being on the bare ground.

The ducks also like to dig through the fresh wheat straw looking for any good morsels left behind from the Combine.