Straw or hay for nest boxes- preference?

[aart]

Hay is feed and may have tasty seeds or leaves and might encourage chickens scratching through it to find that

True they may eat the hay leaves......but some straw(depending on how it's processed) can have a lot of residual grains that'll have them digging thru the nest bedding, had a batch like that here....nests torn up and oats growing in the garden where I used it as mulch

Straw can also harbor mites more easily, if you ever have a breakout of them.

This is why I buy straw in the late summer/fall when it's just been harvested...if straw has been stored in a barn for months where wild birds can get to it , it's more likely to bring mites in with it.

 

[harmonyp]

I have horses, so have multiple types of hay as well as shavings, and have tried many in the bird nest boxes. My favorites are pine shavings and grass hay, in fact I tend to use a combination of both - bottom layer pine shavings for padding, and layer of grass hay (molds to their little round bodies) on top - although using both isn't at all necessary. Oat and forage (i.e. wheat, barley, etc) hay is not good as it has grain which attracts rodents (although the girls love a little oat hay or alfalfa hay to rummage through as a treat!). Straw - just isn't my preference for anything - bird or horse bedding - to me it's messy and bulky - although if it's the only thing you have access too that's fine.

 

[wvchickenchick311]

I use the bedding you put in their house for their nesting boxes.

Yeah would get straw of you had to get one of those.

I use shavings, pine shavings.

 

[igorsMistress]

I prefer grass hay. It has nice smell and makes a nice fluffy nest in the box. My girls didn't seem to like pine in their boxes. When I used it instead of hay the boss came out of the coop hollering at me until I changed it.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

Don’t sell yourself short on being an “amateur.” Your answer was straightforward, very informative, and as good as any “expert’s.”

Thanks, @Mimi's 13! My 7-week-olds are still in the brooder, but I read a lot!

 

[chkva]

Straw because it is made to be bedding. Hay is food and not made for bedding. I use straw in my coop and nesting boxes, the girls always like taking strands and fixing their nesting boxes every morning. I change my coop weekly and sometimes every other week (depends on my birds and how much time they spend in the coop), I feel like keeping bedding in a coop for long periods of time only allows bugs and other things to infest the bedding. I change the straw in the nesting boxes weekly, but I clean them daily, chickens don't like dirty nesting boxes.

 

[chkva]

I prefer grass hay. It has nice smell and makes a nice fluffy nest in the box. My girls didn't seem to like pine in their boxes. When I used it instead of hay the boss came out of the coop hollering at me until I changed it.

sounds like my top hen... She hates change so I never change anything I use. When our kale supply ran low, I never heard the end of it!

 

[aart]

but I clean them daily,

How do they get 'dirty' every day?

 

[igorsMistress]

sounds like my top hen... She hates change so I never change anything I use. When our kale supply ran low, I never heard the end of it!

they can be a little OCD about some things for sure! I gave my flock greens in a different colored suet cage than normal and they about came unglued. They're ridiculous

 

[chkva]

How do they get 'dirty' every day?

When it's raining every day, the chickens get extremely muddy feet (my chickens free range and have access to rocky areas, grass areas, and muddy areas). If I don't go in there and act like I'm cleaning them they won't lay in their boxes, I don't ask them questions because I can't speak chicken. I just do what I've been doing and things work smoothly.