Nesting Materials

[bywaterdog]

Shredded paper, I shred everything- newspapers, junk mail, catalogs,etc. The Carbon in the paper helps break down the high Nitrogen chicken waste quickly. I clean out my nest boxes every 2 weeks and mix the paper in with their manure. The garden looks great and the earth worms love this combination.

 

[meowteri2]

I used a piece of carpet and turned it up the ends. My nest box goes thru the coop wall and eggs are taken from a door on the outside. The inside of the coop has pine shavings
on the floor. The carpet has stayed clean. It also keeps the nest box bottom warmer.

 

[surfchicken72]

I had the same issue,, I do a layer of pine shavings, then some hay... but then I ran a small board across the front of the openings at the bottom.. just a small one.. about 2 1'2 inches wide.
this has done the trick.
I also sanded and rounded the edges of the board so there's no sharp edges for them to land on.

This was a last minute addition for me as I noticed the same problem AFTER completing the coop.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
This is what I was going to say. Round holes for the front work, too. It's not so much what nesting material as it is the lip across the front. I use straw and they almost never kick it out, I have to clean it out. The round holes or curtains (any fabric is fine) also give them a bit more of a feeling pf privacy, and can discourage egg eating.

 

[blefky]

I have 4 nest boxes. I bought a small "turf" rug that's washable and quartered it to line the bottom of the nest boxes. I always have a layer of pine shavings on top of that which get changed out maybe once a month or so. The top layer is always shredded paper which I use lots of - the birds love it - and it gets changed out more often, as needed. I also ran a 6 inch piece of wood across the front because my old coop, which I purchased ready made, had a 3 inch piece of wood across and they still kicked out the nesting materials. When I enlarged and modified a shed to make a larger coop that was one problem I fixed. Nothing is kicked out now.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
That's a good reminder. Mites can infest nestboxes, especially the crevices in wooden ones, so it helps to clean and inspect the nestbox regularly and replace the bedding. In the summer, I replace bedding weekly and put down a dusting of poultry dust (or DE) before I put in the fresh bedding. A friend of ours puts just a small amound of cedar shavings under the regular bedding in his nestboxes, and I've also read about using tobacco leaves under the bedding to deter mites, too.

 

[woodmort]

I always use straw it keeps the eggs clean, cushions them and, I think anyway, keeps them from freezing longer. While there may be a problem with pesticides in the straw, it probably isn't any worse than what is in the chicken feed nor whatever is mixed with the ink if you're using shredded paper. I stay away from using pine shavings because that is what is used on the floor of the coop and I think it confuses the birds on where they are supposed to lay--they like to make nice cozy nests in the straw. Hay would be ok but the nesting material, along with everything else, goes on the garden and I don't want to introduce any more weed seeds than necessary. No matter what you use, some will get kicked out--they also kick out the golf balls I use in there for "bait"--but it all goes on the garden anyway so what the heck. Besides, once the nest gets low I refill it so the straw stays clean.

 

[gsim]

I use grass clippings. They are free and smell good too. I also use them for the litter, and keep them minimum 6" thick. No problems with confusion. 99% of eggs are in nests. Other 1% is split between those that they drop while on the roosts at night, and occasionally, one on the floor. I think with my flock of 25-21 I have seen only 4 eggs on the floor in 18 months.

I add hay in wintertime, both for nests and for litter. None goes to garden for fear of explosion of seeds/weeds. I keep around 5 acres cut so I have plenty of grass clippings .

For nests, I use 12 x 12 x 3 deep plastic parts boxes. If they get a little thin on grass clippings, I just snatch a handful off of the floor litter and drop in the nest that needs it. Since I have large poop boards beneath the roosts, I have very clean litter, and that has been true with from 25 to 21 chooks.

 

[Count Orloff]

Keep in mind that if you use shredded junk mail as bedding (which I do as well), make sure that you aren't shredding the plastic window envelopes in the process. You definitely don't want your chickens pecking at tiny pieces of plastic.

 

[sanchoman]

I used to use hay but switched to using spanish moss.

It's so soft and fluffy and really seems to stay put. I haven't noticed a single shred having been kicked out since making the switch months ago.

It's also FREE!