Straw or pine shavings in coop?

[mommy of two]

We have been using pine shavings in the coop but the chickens make such a mess with them! I see in pictures in books and pictures on here that people are using straw/hay (not sure which one), but I heard that was bad to do! I would like to use straw/hay but don't know if its ok. Also will some one tell me the difference in straw and hay?

 

[nbenevento]

Lol...everybody has an opinion and we are all right! You know what I would take from all of this? You can use whichever one you want. I used to use pine shavings, now I use sand. Both work. Others obviously use straw. It works. In some places, chickens live in the wild with none of the above. Seems to work for them too. I suspect that we chicken owners care more about it than the chickens do.

 

[mommy of two]

Grrr! Now I am so confused on what to use! I love the idea of sand but now that I heard of the silica thing I am a little leery about it, and I have heard straw has mites and grows mold or something like that, and pine shavings are a pain in the butt to clean up! Would sand from a local stream be ok?

 

[Betsy G.]

I'll put in my own 2 cents' worth here...

My chickens are pastured, so I don't put anything outside the coop. I use a base of wheat straw, then put pine shavings on top. The chickens make a huge mess of the coop for the first few days, digging through to find every last wheat kernel. This has me dumping wheat & shavings out of the waterer & picking straw out of the feeder a couple times a day, but it gives them something to do, so I don't mind. I change the bedding when it starts getting really smelly - probably every 6 weeks or so. Over the winter, I put down lots of straw, then added pine shavings on top as needed, without scooping everything out, to build up extra insulation. Cleaning that out this spring was NO FUN but the chickens were happy & healthy all winter.

I agree with others here - there are very few wrong ways and lots & lots of right ways. Keep trying new things until you find the best solution for you!

~Betsy

 

[nbenevento]

I use sand in both the run and the coop. I actually use more sand in the coop than the run because of the dirt in the run, I don't think they need as much out there but it is there. Just not as deep.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Mites can hide inside the straw tubes.

I like sand.

 

[chickiegal]

My friend used sand that came with MITES. Be careful with sand. She is having a tough time getting rid of them. I like hay but have also read that it's not the best for the coop however it's good in the nest box. I'm using pine shavings mixed with rice hulls which are very absorbent. Anything you choose will have to be changed often so as not to encourage all of the undesirables that flourish in spring/summer. Good luck!

 

[Amastacia]

We have been using pine shavings in the coop but the chickens make such a mess with them! I see in pictures in books and pictures on here that people are using straw/hay (not sure which one), but I heard that was bad to do! I would like to use straw/hay but don't know if its ok. Also will some one tell me the difference in straw and hay?

the short answer: hay is feed, straw is bedding. hay tends to cost more, and can be made of various grasses and/or alfalfa. straw is often the leftover stalks from grains and isn't really edible like hay is.

as for bedding for coops, i don't know much about straw. i use shavings, but i know exactly what you mean about the mess. it is everywhere.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

My friend used sand that came with MITES. Be careful with sand. She is having a tough time getting rid of them. I like hay but have also read that it's not the best for the coop however it's good in the nest box. I'm using pine shavings mixed with rice hulls which are very absorbent. Anything you choose will have to be changed often so as not to encourage all of the undesirables that flourish in spring/summer. Good luck!

Eegads! Mites in sand!!

 

[SigChef]

I use sand in my run, and pine shavings in my coop. I am however switching over to sand in the coop this week. I drilled holes in a dust pan, and just use it as a pooper scooper. I am a neat freak so I scoop every morning when I let the hens out into the yard. I treat everything heavily with DE, so I haven't had a problem with sand. The sand is much cooler to the touch then shaving, which helps here in AZ, and I don't have to worry about it getting wet from my misting system.