Straw or Wood Shavings?

[cheeze]

Cheeze - If you cannot be helpful please refrain from posting on the forum.

 

[waynesgarden]

If it's too much to answer a question in a civil tone, then don't bother anymore. It's unlikely that anyone has forced you to respond.

Not everyone has been here for the extremely long time you've been a member here. New people should feel free to ask anything they want, no matter how many times it's been asked before. I see many threads each day asking questions that have been asked many times. Are you going to jump down their throats also?

As to the original question, I've used many materials in nests and as bedding, including wood shavings and chips, straw and hay, and right now I'm using shavings for bedding and both shavings and pine straw (the needles from white pines) in the nest boxes. I can't say I've had any problems as a result of using any particular material.

I use what I can harvest or gather for free or buy inexpensively.

Wayne

 

[debilorrah]

You are so right Wayne!!!

We use pine shavings in the brooders, but during the warmer months we use a deep layer of straw. Now in the winter alfalfa hay. It's supposed to hold the warmth better and they can eat it. Of course they eat anything, but.....

 

[Chick_a_dee]

We don't have straw, so I used hay in my nestboxes, and it was really great, edible so if they ate a little it wasn't a huge deal, and it smelt really awesome.... and then they ate all four of their nests.


Yep, it's shavings here in the nestboxes LOL



My mum was going on about using Sphagum (sp?) Moss in the nest boxes, something about it being all natural, soft, and she was sure it would be okay for chickens. I'm not convinced, so it's staying at shavings for now, not that our girls are laying yet, they keep making little nests in the bedding outside the nest boxes, and then leaving them. Oddly, they're making the nests where the wall err leaks LOL, there used to be a doorway, and my mum put down a sill without siliconing under it for one reason or another, and now the snow has come, it has started to leak into the building at that point... OFF TOPIC COMPLETELY, I'm stopping now.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Ok that is darned funny!!!!!

 

[waynesgarden]

We don't have straw, so I used hay in my nestboxes, and it was really great, edible so if they ate a little it wasn't a huge deal, and it smelt really awesome.... and then they ate all four of their nests.

Reminds my of the time I used leaves from a ginko tree in the nest boxes for my rabbits that were ready to kindle. The leaves dried to a very soft texture and felt like a downy pillow. Perfect for them to give birth in, I thought.

Apparently they tasted a whole lot better than they felt and the boxes were bare in a few days.

Wayne​