Preferred bedding?

[mommahen1990]

Hey everyone so my chicks are 2 and half months old and are in their coop. They have adjusted to it wonderfully. I currently use pine shavings for their roosting boxes. But since I live in the most northern part of Maryland, I was wondering what is everyone's preference when it comes to the bedding?

 

[CDcluck]

For the coop floor, I like a plain smooth-ish wood panel if the coop is a design that is easy to blast out with the hose or pine shavings if it's something I'll be sweeping out to clean. I like smaller coops, big enough for the birds roost comfortably and hold a few nest boxes and not much else.

For the outdoor run, I've had the best success with plain wood chips for avoiding mud and mess.

For nest boxes, I've used pine shavings, hay, and straw, and I liked hay the best, but it really wasn't a big performance difference overall. I've used shreds from my paper shredder in a pinch, it worked I guess but I wouldn't use it on a regular basis. Nest boxes aren't usually used for roosting, for overnight roosts most birds will choose a high perch over a low platform, but there are exceptions to every "rule".

 

[Noaskye]

I like the fine pine shavings from Tractor supply. $5 a bag and one bag does the bottom of an 8x6 run and 6 x 6 coop a couple inches thick and is pretty easy to clean. My sister uses sand and loves it, I'm still on the fence and have to order a minimum of 5 tons of sand where I am & didn't want to shell out for that this year. I'm in MD too but the southern tip.

 

[blackdog043]

I use pine shavings in the coop, the white bag from tractor supply.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

We use pine flakes.

 

[Pork Pie]

I use dry grass clippings from the lawn - around 6-8" deep. I just turn it over daily (30 seconds job) and replace the whole bedding every 6 months or so.

 

[barneveldrerman]

There are many types of bedding that you can use.

1. Deep litter method (works best in moist climate.)
2. Sand (works best in dry climate)
3. Pine shavings (works well with almost any climate,)
4. Hay or straw (hay or straw does not absorb liquids the best)

Out of all of these methods I would either use pine shavings or deep litter method. I personally like the use of pine shavings because they absorb any liquid spills!

Hope this helped, and don't hesitate to ask more questions!!!

 

[Huntley]

We're in central NJ and use Tractor Supply pine shavings for the coop and sand for the run. We do the deep littler method in the coop and it works great for us.