Straw or wood shavings?

[misskes]

I use wood shavings in the coop and straw in the nesting boxes.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

I use pine shavings in the coop and straw in the covered portion of our run...

 

[Birdinhand]

if you are going for looks, nothing seems to match wood shavings but... In the long run I've gone for a deep mulch approach. the chickens constantly turn over and poop on whatever you put down. I like starting with a 6" base of partially composted wood chips and then add as needed. I clean out the coop once a year and that's about it.

 

[3riverschick]

Excellent Insight TeaBone in Post Number 10. that just never occurred to me. me thank you for sharing it
I use shavings but that's really an interesting observation .thank you !
Karen

 

[chickengeorgeto]

If you can get them shredded corn shucks are the best. Just don't hold them too close to the shredder. And by all means try to have your run in the dry.

 

[Teabone]

A clarification, I am talking about 5 chicks and not a great flock, my coop is 4' X 4' so it is not a big deal to clean it and add fresh shaving once a month or so. I know some back yard poulterers seem to prefer screen floors in their coops but I felt it would be easier on the chickens to have a solid floor during bad weather and cold nights.

 

[barred2rock]

Not a flood issue but I noted with my day old chicks for a week or two the straw tended to stick up such that the chicks tended to be a little below the surface of the straw and their little bums were rubbing in the straw which would cause their excrement to be held against their bums causing the poopy bum condition which was not good. I switched to pine shavings since other types of shavings such as cedar are bad for them. Right away I could see the chicks stood higher in the shavings than the straw improving their ability to pass the feces without it sticking to their bums.

I had my chicks on straw from day one, never had that issue. I wonder why our experiences differ.

 

[Teabone]

I had my chicks on straw from day one, never had that issue. I wonder why our experiences differ.

I have no idea, might be the brand of straw, texture, or luck. I can tell you that after catching them and cutting the feces loose from the feathers because the "moisten it" method did not work from the struggling little chicks I certainly wish I had you straw.

 

[Teabone]

I had my chicks on straw from day one, never had that issue. I wonder why our experiences differ.

Well with a little looking around and asking a few questions I think I have found out why there is a difference. Below is a picture of my dumped out bedding. The straw on top is the bottom when it is in the house, the fines have fallen through, You can see the length of the stems at 12 to 14 inches. I stopped at the feed store to see what they were using in their tanks the keep their chicks in. Right away I could see that the bedding they were using was different than just plain straw. It had been run through a chipper shredder and the longest piece was between 2 and 3 inches. It was a mix of wheat straw and some alfalfa hay. The company who makes this product is
http://standleeforage.com/products/flock-fresh but I think one could do an equal job by placing your chipper shredder on a piece of canvas and run the amount you need. I think it will come out about the same size. I did note on a small box at the feed store used for people to take little chicks home in. It was made by Nutrina and advised not to use straw just pine shavings because if the straw was wet it would be difficult for the chicks to walk on. That seemed to be a little over the top to me I hope this is informative to those who were wondering the whys and why not's of straw vs chips.

 

[JenniferCNY]

I use pine shavings in my coop and deep litter (leaves, pine debris, grass clippings, veggie and fruit scraps) in my run.

I do have straw spread around my setup as the grass disappeared there over the winter from the chickens free ranging close to their home, where I shoveled the snow, and pulling up all the grass. They love scratching the the straw. They love flinging it ALL over the place too.

They also free range most of their day in my yard. But in the winter where they spend pretty much all their time in the run I discovered that deep litter is the BEST way to eliminate the mud, poo and smell.