Official BYC Poll: What type of bedding do you use for your chicken coop in the summer?

[BYC Project Manager]

Choosing the right bedding for your chicken coop is essential, especially during the hot summer months. The right bedding can help keep your flock cool, dry, and comfortable.

We're curious to know what type of bedding you prefer for your chicken coop in the summer. Share your choice and see what others in the community are using to keep their coops fresh and their chickens happy!

Further Reading:

• Bedding Part 1: Comparing Materials

• Bedding Part 2: Maintaining Your Bedding ​

• Coop Health: Designing & Maintaining A Healthy Coop

(Check out more exciting Official BYC Polls HERE!)

 

[aart]

Same large flake pine shavings I use all year around...
.....no reason to use anything different.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Dried whole leaves using the deep bedding method

It's free and has worked well for me for over a year now. I just throw it all in the compost pile when I do a full change.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I also use the same pine shavings as I use in winter. It's easy to clean up/change out and keeps things dry.

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

Grass clippings in summer, leaves in the fall. Pine shavings in the winter/mud season

 

[skeeeter]

Hi! I have red dirt/dust, just like Mars. I use whatever natural materials I have on hand year round. In spring if I get some straw, I chop it. Summer usually only gives me dried banana leaves(chopped), dry grass clippings or bamboo leaves.

 

[AmeraucanaChicken]

Our chickens don't really get a bedding. In our new trailer coop there are slats in the floor which all the poop falls through. At night they're up on the roost, and during the day they're out in the grass.

 

[geminiphoenix]

Pine shavings (when TSC has them on sale), straw (we usually get about 6 bales from Rural King), and I purchased some herbal hemp bedding that I sprinkle once a week when I go in to refresh. I do deep litter method.

 

[neo71665]

Wood chips year round. Most of them are pine because I have a ton of pine trees but I'll throw what ever in the chipper that is too small to make firewood out of.

 

[Granny23]

I've tried a few different things, mulch, cedar shavings and sand, for me, is easiest. If it gets wet it's no problem, it's easy on my girls feet and mine (I am barefoot 95% of time).
I actually scoop my coop and the big enclosure and the area at the attached tunnels every day, anywhere the chickens are, just like I do with my dogs.
I don't buy play sand, I get the kind that is used for cement. It's much cheaper. Maybe once a year I buy a few bags to freshen the coop up.