Straw in house instead of wood shavings?

[tvanz]

So my 'ladies' are getting close to laying age and I read somewhere on here that putting straw in the nesting boxes is nice. That they make a nest to lay their boxes in.

Well, maybe its cause they are young and not ready yet but when I checked on them the next day they had scattered the hay all throughout their coop.

This got me wondering if I could just use straw instead of wood chips in their coop... is this ok?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

So my 'ladies' are getting close to laying age and I read somewhere on here that putting straw in the nesting boxes is nice. That they make a nest to lay their boxes in.

Well, maybe its cause they are young and not ready yet but when I checked on them the next day they had scattered the hay all throughout their coop.

This got me wondering if I could just use straw instead of wood chips in their coop... is this ok?

Plenty of folks bed with straw in the coop. I, personally, prefer shavings. I find straw to be more of a hassle and harder to keep tidy (have the same opinion on it's use in horse stalls - which is why I use shavings on that side of the barn as well). It's really a matter of trying things out and finding what works best for you, your coop and your birds. Give it a whirl - worst thing that can happen is you'll find you don't care for it, so you strip it out and go back to shavings.

 

[tvanz]

Awesome, thanks!!!

 

[RJSorensen]

The Ol Grey Mare will not steer you wrong. I vote for shavings as well. I am a new this year convert to them. We have grain most every year, so we almost always have straw. We have used it for many generations for animal bedding. To me that is just what straw is for. However straw in the coop is like filling a big mud hole with gravel, with enough of it you can stand on top of it, and be high and dry.

But all of the mud and water is still there… you are just building a dry layer on top. With shavings, it will wick up the moisture, and let it go into the 'air' over time, and as the chickens scratch it and turn it, it drys out. Now there may perhaps be a slight stain to the shavings, but not a mess. Straw does not adsorb well at all. It just builds up. My coop is much better with shavings, than it ever was with straw in it. Barley, wheat or oats are not up the the task that shavings are. And hay molds, so I dislike it in my coops regardless.

Just thought I'd share my experience,

RJ

 

[SgtChikkin]

I vote for straw.

I have an elevated, wooden chicken coop with four nesting boxes. There isNot as awesome as this guy's bald spot! a removable retaining board that keeps the birds from knocking out the straw. When we first built the coop, we used shavings with success. The cost of straw is significantly less than shavings, it requires less frequent replacement, and is much more practical for us.

Another thing: we pay a local farmer for the straw. Our money doesn't go to a big multi-million-dolar corporation that makes shavings of unknown origin, packaged up with plastic, and then shipped a thousand miles to a retail farm store.

 

[tvanz]

Awesome guys! Thanks for the feedback! My only worry was because I wanted straw in the boxes so they could nest it and didnt want straw in their coop (which is also elevated) to confuse them. For now, I am just going to stay with all straw though just to get a good feel for both.

*** GOT MY FIRST EGG TODAY!!!!!!!!!! *********** WOOTZ.