Straw or pine shavings in coop?

[byveidt]

I use shavings in the winter when it's wetter and straw or hay in the summer. The shavings absorb moisture and bundle around the mud and droppings which is key where I live. In the summer I don't have to worry about mold in the straw or hay(I get a sweepings bag from my feed store, so it's a mix) and it makes the coops a little easier to clean. Plus the birds like rooting around in the straw better. I also do heavy biosecurity so I don't worry about mites, but I do check--I also throw down a layer of diatamacious earth in the coop and on the perch and all of the corners because I have wood houses. The DE also helps with moisture. -two cents-

 

[bowhunter862]

Also will some one tell me the difference in straw and hay?

Hay is dried grasses, ie: timothy, alfalfa, clover, treefoil, etc. Straw is the stalk of grains, ie: oats, wheat, barley, etc. Straw is what's left after the grain has been harvested off the plant.

 

[Beachykeen]

Hands down pine shavings are the way to go. I am VERY sensitive to smell and did not want to start a flock until I knew I could manage to coop and run. Here is some chicken math for you: deep litter method + pine shavings = NO SMELL. Installing a kick plate across the coop and or run entrance will keep the pine shavings where they belong. NEVER EVER mix shavings with sand! If mites are a trouble dust the coop and chickens with food grade DE.

 

[settingdusk]

I have been using pine straw that fell off the Lob-lolly pines around me. Is that good stuff?

 

[dawnwinds58]

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!

I use hardwood dust and shavings from the local cabinet shop. They sell the majority of this stuff, but what hits the ground around the walls and in the dirt we can collect. Usually we get enough in one gather to redo the floors 4 times. Just add chicken poo, and age. It becomes a fabulous compost for the raised bed gardens.

I use sand mixed with diatomaceous earth in a wooden framed sand box. It gives them a "sand bath" location which kills mites and they treat themselves, thoroughly, way better than I could fighting to get powder under the feathers of an insulted hen.

 

[cgoodloe]

If you mix DE (diatomaceous earth) in with the bedding whether sand, straw, or shavings, you won't have much of a mite or flea problem. I put this stuff all over the ground in my coop as well and in their dust bowls.


Update: I just realized the last poster mentioned DE. I didn't read all the posts before replying. But I concur, put DE in with your sand and mix it good before you spread it out.

 

[GabeStalker]

I'm so lost with all these choices. I live in Oregon so we have very cold wet winters and mildly warm summers. I've heard everyone saying sand is good, but i've also heard that pine shavings are good. All i want is something that is easy to clean and will be best for my chickens.

 

[linuxman]

I prefer Straw when I can get it, hay when I can't. I used wood shavings one year, and when it came time to clean out the coop, it all clumped together. It was the heaviest, hardest, worst coop cleaning I have ever had.

Hay is dried grasses, thistles, and other edible (to animals) plants. Straw they don't eat.

 

[cgoodloe]

Sand mixed with DE is probably going to be the easiest to clean. Just rake up the poop out of the sand and compost it leaving most of the dry sand there. Add new sand/DE as needed. Shavings get all over the place and you have to rake the whole lot up and get rid of it. Hard to compost it because it's hardwood. Takes years to compost. I've had some in my compost pile for 2 years and it hasn't budged in decay.

 

[mommy of two]

That's what I am thinking! Sand seems so convenient, and with two toddlers I need convenient! I think we are going to go buy some tomorrow! About how deep does the sand need to be?