Nesting Box Bedding

[ni22]

I was planning to use hay in my nesting boxes but after reading this thread I am wondering if a combo of long Hidcote lavender branches and a layer of pine shavings would be okay? This is the lavender that doesn't really smell and I have a ton and the chickens don't tend to eat them (that's why they are my main landscape plant) I just clipped about a garbage can full yesterday. Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Talonstorm]

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but...

I have read in several places that stray and hay isn't good to use in nest boxes because mites like to hide in the hollow pieces of straw/hay. My chickens are not to laying age yet, but I am wondering what is ideal for the nest box bedding? Do most people use straw/hay anyway?

Thanks, Tina

 

[Julia62]

I have straw in my nests and I have shavings in the coop. That is what was recommended in Raising Chickens for Dummies so I went with it. My chickens are not old enough to lay yet though.

 

[Hokum Coco]

I am wondering if a combo of long Hidcote lavender branches and a layer of pine shavings would be okay?

Nest boxes
In my nest boxes I fold a feed bag to fit (nest boxes are 1 ft³). When a bag gets soiled; fold a new one; pop out the soiled; pop in the new. Feed bags are a nylon mesh bag frozen poop just peels off in below freezing temperatures and just flakes off in summer when left out in the sun to bake and dry.

 

[sandylillie]

I've seen nest pads advertised, made of plastic - supposed to be easy to clean and gentle for the eggs. But...How do the chickens feel about plastic? Has anyone tried this kind of thing?

 

[Elysian Fields]

You have described almost exactly what our experience has been. Our hens just started laying on Labor Day. Those that lay in the nesting boxes kick out the wood shavings that we use for the coop bedding. Some lay on the floor of the coop and when we refill the shavings in the laying boxes we have one that likes to sleep in there.

 

[member 373180]

My boxes have pine shavings with a couple handfuls chopped straw mixed in (I'm sure I got the idea here somewhere. The girls rearrange it daily and make pretty nests but don't seem to kick much of it out, the straw provides more structure while the shavings cushion I think. Sometimes the eggs end up right at the bottom on the linoleum but I haven't had any break since they started laying a couple months ago.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

You have described almost exactly what our experience has been. Our hens just started laying on Labor Day. Those that lay in the nesting boxes kick out the wood shavings that we use for the coop bedding. Some lay on the floor of the coop and when we refill the shavings in the laying boxes we have one that likes to sleep in there.

Welcome to BYC!
You are describing some very common issues encountered with keeping chickens.
1 - on the kicking of the shavings out of the box, what sort of nest box are you using? When things are being kicked out of the nest box in the course or normal use it is often a matter of simply adding (or increasing the height of) a "lip" to the front of the box. Some girls are more vigorous about their construction efforts than others, but a good lip can go a long way in keeping not only nest materiel, but also eggs, in the nest.
2 - when you say some "lay on the floor" are you referring to laying their eggs on the floor of the coop? This may be the case or, depending on #1, could be a matter of eggs being kicked out of the nest boxes just as the bedding is being moved out. If it's the former, you can help to teach them where to lay by putting some "bait" (golf balls, wooden eggs, etc) in the nest boxes. This is the "good hen-keeping seal of approval" endorsement of the nest boxes as an approved place to lay an egg -- the fake "eggs" make it appear another hen has already safely used that nest to lay her eggs so it makes it look like a good place for the next bird to come along to do the same
3 - sleeping in nest boxes is common and quite undesirable. A chicken expels a LOT of waste in the overnight hours while they sleep - a chicken sleeping in the nest box will expel this waste in the nest. Waste in the nest box = poop covered eggs and no one wants poopy eggs. There are different reasons a bird will take to sleeping in the nest boxes, and each has a different solution. What sort of roost do you have in your coop and how is it located in relation to the nest boxes? Is the roost higher or lower than the nest box? As with teaching them where to lay, you also sometimes have to teach them where you want them to sleep. Ideally this is done before the onset of production so that you are not working around needing them to have access to the nests to lay while wanting to block access against sleeping, but it can still be addressed now. You can easily address not sleeping in the nest boxes by simply making them inaccessible before dusk and then opening them back up at dawn so that they can get in there to lay eggs -- it can be accomplished with something as simple as a blanket draped across the front. Alternatively, you can go out at dust and physically move birds out of the nests and placing them onto the roost. This alternative ties into the next point to consider is that in addition to teaching them where NOT to sleep you have to be sure you have provided a place TO sleep that is appealing from a bird's point of view -- that is why I asked about your roosts. You may need to address both sides of the equation to come to the result you are looking for.

 

[Too2much]

Currently getting the 3 nesting boxes ready for Yall chickens. I have a bale of straw, lavender and newspaper. I am lining the box with newspaper or paper grocery bags, straw and lavender. I have a small shelf in front of the boxes and a roosting pole inches from the shelf. The main roosting area is on another wall with a high roost and an old wooden ladder no longer safe to climb up. I cut it into 3 pieces and made a roost for them. Another ladder is attached to the nesting box roost, like a stairs up to the boxes.

Almost done pouring the cement slab, laying down an indoor/outdoor AstroTurf type lining and putting in a thick layer of pine shavings, also sprinkled with lavender. I let them free-range in the afternoon when I am outside to keep an eye on them. They mosey up to the coop to check out their new digs and visit me and the dog. The dog lays still, she has never once bothered them, they have no fear and really very calm.

 

[Jenna14Chicken]

I am also from ohio! We use straw we get for free, and we have a ledge on the nesting boxes so that they usually don't get it all out. I frequently add more straw every two days or so but chickens do rearrange the bedding everyday to lay. Good luck!
Jenna