Straw vs Hay

[weezzell5400]

we have a ton of pine trees around our house so we use the free resources that mother nature gave us and use the pine needles and leaves from trees in the whole coop and it does a great job of collecting the droppings too then i just come in with the ole pitch fork and clean it all out at one time and replace with the fresh then all the old goes into the compost pile

 

[radiodog]

I used straw and noticed an excess build up of slick nasty stuff on the ground....changed to pine shavings and the ground stays cleaner. I do use shavings and straw in the coop and nest boxes - the girls like to arrange the straw to their liking.

 

[Theo]

How well does the pine straw break down in the compost heap? we have lots of pine straw around the yard, but I avoid putting it in the compost ... maybe I should reconsider this. Manure-enriched pine straw might make a very good mulch for the rhododendrons or roses.

 

[ndemerly]

Quote:
moldy hay is a risk to feed to any animals.

 

[weezzell5400]

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well with everything else that we add to the compost pile daily it beaks down pretty well we also take all the straw up to where we have the garden and pile it up some times and just throw a match into it it burns off and its really good for the garden as well just an idea for ya

 

[crazeetxn]

When we first started, I threw a bail of hay down and in the nesting boxes. That was about 6 months ago and a poop board later, it's time to get rid of it. Don't think it's hurting the chickens much, but I've seen too many folks talk about putting wood shavings down so that's the route I'm going. Put some in the nest boxes and it's lasted longer and the eggs are cleaner

But, to answer your question, if I had the choice, I would've used straw based on the results around here.

 

[babalubird]

I wouldn't worry too much of the pine needles or "pine straw" doesn't break down completely in your compost garden before putting it on your garden. A little lumpy stuff will help keep the soil more aeriated and it will break down even faster then, once it's split up and turned into the soil.

Connie