I tend to fill the removable tray with a small amount of pine shavings (to soak up any moisture/odor) and put hay on top of it, so the chickens have something to do when they are in the coop. Then, weekly, I replace the hay and put some more shavings in. My chickens are only 3 months old and have only been in the coop for 6 weeks but it has been working great for me and I have only had to do a full-on clean out once, and that was before I tinkered with the amounts and times and "perfected" my method! I buy my hay from a farmer in the area for $6 a bale and I am still on the first one, with plenty left, even though I've been using the same bale to line the rabbit hutch! I put up a cardboard "wall" in the nesting box when I moved the girls in and filled it completely with hay for insulation. Seemed to work very well! It was still a bit chilly out when they moved in and I heard you shouldn't open the nesting box until they are ready to lay. It doesn't seem to want to switch over to Spring quite yet, here in New England, even though it has teased us a time or two so I think that nesting box will be staying stuffed for the time being! I would almost imagine there is a summer's worth of hay just in there! I keep it in a covered waterproofed wooden container that is raised off the ground so I am not very worried about mold, but I have been watching it since we've had so much rain! I figure I will open the cover and get some sun in there anyway, once I can be sure we will have a dry day! My run is a mess in all this rain though. I have been working on an extension with a roof because it gets so mucky that all the hens hide under the raised coop! That equine pine might be worth investing in for spot problems! Good info on this thread, I will have to follow it!
