We use shavings. And about hens laying only in one nestbox, ignoring the rest, I had an "aha!" moment yesterday. We're trying to get a hen to go broody, so I haven't been collecting eggs daily as I used to. One box had 7 eggs collected in it, and one of our hens was in there adding her contribution. Another hen was annoyed that this box was occupied, and even though there were other boxes available right nearby, kept pacing around and clucking loudly. I got a few ping pong balls and added them to an empty box, and all of a sudden, the fussy hen jumped in that box and settled down to lay. I plan to keep a dummy egg in every one of my nestboxes now.
Oh, and we now seem to have a broody hen! Hooray!
