How many of you use hay for your coops?

[ky-chicken-farmer]

Quote:
Straw is usually 1.50-2.50 higher than hay. It is cleaner than alot of hay.

Why would straw-an agricultural byproduct- be 1.50-2.50 higher than a bale of hay, which is grown and harvested specifically as fodder? We do hay every year, I have never seen anyone charging twice as much for a bale of straw as a bale of hay. I have never paid more than $2.00 for a bale of straw, hay might go for 3 or 4.

hay around here runs $2-3 a bale, depends on the quality and whether you get it the barn or pick it up in the field. Straw runs $3.50-4.75... All our straw around here is wheat straw, the heads of wheat have been harvested leavin just the wheat stubble which is then cut and baled. Since the wheatw has already been cut it leaves less material in the field to be baled (compared to a hay field of the same size) you burn the same amount of fuel but have fewer bales compared to a hay field. There are fewer fields being baled for straw these days so thats another factor that drives up prices. We bale commercially in the summer and bale 10,000-15,000 round bales, and 4,000-6000 square bales but only cut 1000 or so bales of straw.

 

[NYRIR]

Quote:
Removable tray? How many chickens do you have? I currently have a laying flock of over 40...so I probably have to clean my coop out more often than you...also a LOT of my chickens are full grown...with BIG poo....it can get nasty quickly...which is why I'm looking for something a bit cheaper than the wood chips...at least for the bulk of the bedding with maybe a thin layer of chips underneath...

 

[youngjedi32002]

Quote:
No, it is definitely hay that I use. I buy it from the farmer himself. Hay and wood shavings. I also use, what I am now understanding, is called the "deep litter" method so I use less of both.

 

[ranit]

Quote:
Why would straw-an agricultural byproduct- be 1.50-2.50 higher than a bale of hay, which is grown and harvested specifically as fodder? We do hay every year, I have never seen anyone charging twice as much for a bale of straw as a bale of hay. I have never paid more than $2.00 for a bale of straw, hay might go for 3 or 4.

hay around here runs $2-3 a bale, depends on the quality and whether you get it the barn or pick it up in the field. Straw runs $3.50-4.75... All our straw around here is wheat straw, the heads of wheat have been harvested leavin just the wheat stubble which is then cut and baled. Since the wheatw has already been cut it leaves less material in the field to be baled (compared to a hay field of the same size) you burn the same amount of fuel but have fewer bales compared to a hay field. There are fewer fields being baled for straw these days so thats another factor that drives up prices. We bale commercially in the summer and bale 10,000-15,000 round bales, and 4,000-6000 square bales but only cut 1000 or so bales of straw.

Straw used to always be cheaper around here until the last few years. I think we have lots of farmers that bale hay but are getting fewer and fewer that bale straw making it harder to come by so they can charge more and people will pay it. Hay can be bought for $3-$4 depending on the quality. Straw is usually $4-5.

 

[chicknsnbiskits]

I use wood chips in the nest and inside their little coop, and straw all over the run to help the mud-and-muck. It makes it smell SO much better and the girls love scratching around in it. They have a ball.

 

[mkearsley]

I started using straw this past late fall because I thought it would be warmer than sawdust. It is a bit "cleaner" (less dusty) and they do love digging through it. They all come running when I uncover the straw bale to replace the old straw!

The only problem between sawdust & straw is that straw produces a lot more waste than the sawdust does. I've already got a full compost pile & its not even lawn-mowing time

I usually use a couple of "leaves" of straw (where the bundle naturally breaks) when I refill it. It's amazing how much that stuff "fluffs" up. During the winter-time I used 3-4 leaves and stuffed it in as many cracks I could find to provide as much insulation as possible. I have a local farmer who sold me a 100-lb bale of straw for $5.00. I'm using the last 1/2 of the 3rd bale now. One bale lasted about 1 1/2 months during winter, changing it on a pretty regular basis (every other weekend). Now that I'm using less, it'll last for a bit longer.

 

[CheekyChooks]

Interessting. I'm currently using sawdust in the coop and wood chips in the run but always on the look out for better, cleaner options. What I'm using is working for me at the minute!

 

[Pele]

This is such an interesting thread to read! I personally constructed my coop with raised lips on any openings, and put down about an inch to 1 1/2 inches of sand for moisture absorption. I put down some DE in the sand since the chickens love to dustbathe in it, and then put down straw on top of that. The sand sucks all the moisture up, and all you have to do is rake the used straw once a week. Easy Peasy!

 

[seahoob]

I use wheat straw in the hen house and run but use pine shavings for their nesting boxes. I have experimented with different verities of hay and straw and found straw to be more desirable for mine and the birds needs. I did try rice hay for a bit but it made it hard to clean out the entire coop and took longer to compost. Just my 2 cents.

 

[NYRIR]

Quote:
Why would straw-an agricultural byproduct- be 1.50-2.50 higher than a bale of hay, which is grown and harvested specifically as fodder? We do hay every year, I have never seen anyone charging twice as much for a bale of straw as a bale of hay. I have never paid more than $2.00 for a bale of straw, hay might go for 3 or 4.

hay around here runs $2-3 a bale, depends on the quality and whether you get it the barn or pick it up in the field. Straw runs $3.50-4.75... All our straw around here is wheat straw, the heads of wheat have been harvested leavin just the wheat stubble which is then cut and baled. Since the wheatw has already been cut it leaves less material in the field to be baled (compared to a hay field of the same size) you burn the same amount of fuel but have fewer bales compared to a hay field. There are fewer fields being baled for straw these days so thats another factor that drives up prices. We bale commercially in the summer and bale 10,000-15,000 round bales, and 4,000-6000 square bales but only cut 1000 or so bales of straw.

Ok, thank you for that info.That seems to make sense.Around here it is much easier to get hay.The straw you are describing is what I buy from Agway at 7.50 a bale, but... this IS NY!