Ok straw or shavings?

[johnz]

What is the best for the floor in the coop? and why? if you dont mind aswering. thanks

 

[duckinnut]

I use pine shavings because it really allows the droppings to dry up,in the winter the deep litter method also serves as insulation for the floor. It breaks down fairly quickly, from the chickens walking on it and scratching in it not to mention mixes it up. It makes great compost for your garden or flower bed too,just let it temper in the compost pile first.I roll it all over about 1 time a week so the fresher stuff on the bottom gets used. The only drawback it gets out of the coop,if your a complete neat-freak this might not be for you. I tried straw when my chicks were little,all that happened was the straw stuck together. Read on this site the other day that straw/hay attracts mites,not sure if that is true or not. Some people use sand on the floor,dont know the particulars on that,thinking it might be a little more frequent cleaning than DLM. Bet never use cedar,smells good but is toxic to chickens.

Also forgot to say

to this great site and this awesome hobby( nice way of saying addiction) and good luck.

 

[Nicole01]

I'm very happy with pine! It's also easy to compost and it's cheap!

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

Pine shavings! The smells are WAY less when using pine shavings. I have tried hay and the next day it got changed. Smelled horrible and so quickly too.

 

[sadies chicks]

I agree with everyone, PINE!! Love it!

edited to add: The pine pellets are way cool too, I used those when the girls were babies and it really helped keep their water clean as they couldn't kick up the pellets as easily as the shavings.

 

[DvanderSlik]

I use shavings (not sure if they're pine or not) but its mainly white. It's about $10 for a 50lbs bag, so it's not TOO expensive. I only have tiny coop (see my BYC page) and only need about 1/4 of it for each complete bedding change, so it last awhile!

I started out with straw. It's hallow, so it does attract moisture. Not good. It's just a pain in the booty to deal with. I say just go for the savings!

 

[sadies chicks]

Oh and just an FYI - make sure they are PINE shavings if you are going to use them, not CEDAR. Cedar is toxic to the birds.

 

[montanachickens]

I agree with you guys that pine shavings are probably the way to go. But I have a little bigger coop and they are far from cheap. I need 2-3 bags to get a decent bed and that is like 15-20 bucks. So I cheap out and use a little straw on the bottom and top off with shavings. We'll see. I have read that you can chop up straw with a weed eater in a garbage can, but doing that to an entire bale seems mighty cumbersome. Any ideas?
Thanks

 

[woodmort]

Strange--8 replies and none for straw. I prefer pine shavings for the reasons given--they tend to absorb poop and odor and are easier to handle--straw can mat. By the same token, I do use straw for nesting material--the birds kick out the shavings and they don't cushion the eggs as well.

 

[johnz]

thanks so much for the reply's, i quess pine shavings are the way to go. I will give them a shot.