What type of bedding material do you recommend for your nest boxes? I have pine shavings on the floor in the coop. Didn't know if I should get hay or straw. We have quite a lot of pinestraw in the yard, but didn't know if I should use it or not. Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
I just use the same pine shavings in the nesting boxes as I use for the floor. The girls seem very happy with the shavings. I tried hay, but they didn't like it and laid outside the boxes. The shavings are very easy to clean out when necessary. I just use a cat litter scooper to remove any poop or dirt and just throw in new shavings.
Most definitely avoid hay; they tend to eat it, and it can become balled up in their crop and then they become cropbound. If you do a search on here, probably 75% of the birds with cropbound issues are as a result of eating hay. They just cannot break it down quickly enough to pass through, so it turns round & round, becoming a larger and larger ball. Straw is not the best choice, simply becuase it's more difficult to clean it out, and also, if you ever have a mite issue, the mites can hide in the shafts of the straw making it uber difficult to get rid of them. Shavings are probably your best choice! Easy, economical, absorbent...
I rake up the pine straw around my place and use it for the nest boxes and add to the deep litter compost.
Thanks for the advice. I think I'll go with the pine shaving since I already have them. It would make it easier and one less thing to buy.
I've been using some hay since day one...after reading this, I may switch to shavings...real soon....
